Activists of Inqilab Mancha shut down the capital’s Shahbagh intersection on Friday, demanding the arrest and prosecution of those behind the killing of the platform’s convener, Sharif Osman bin Hadi. The blockade began after Jumu’ah prayers and was continuing as of 4:00 p.m., drawing supporters from various professions alongside the group’s organisers.
Chanting “No compromise, revolution,” “We are all Hadi,” and “We want justice,” demonstrators vowed to remain on the streets until suspects are detained and charged. “This blockade is on, and it will continue. We won’t leave without justice,” said Abdullah Al Jaber, the group’s member-secretary. He framed the mobilisation as part of Hadi’s “fight against cultural hegemony” and a broader struggle to safeguard “independence and sovereignty.”
Hadi, a prominent face of the July people’s uprising and a prospective independent candidate for Dhaka-8, was shot in the head by assailants on a motorcycle on December 12 while riding a rickshaw on Purana Paltan’s Box Culvert Road. Transferred to Singapore for treatment, he died on December 18. A large funeral prayer was held on Manik Mia Avenue, and he was buried beside the mausoleum of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam near the Dhaka University central mosque.
Inqilab Mancha has staged a series of actions since the killing; Friday’s road blockade is the latest in its rolling protest campaign.