Bangladesh government appeals for restraint amid violence; slain leader's body reaches Dhaka

Dhaka: Bangladesh’s interim government on Friday urged citizens to resist violence by “fringe elements” as the body of a prominent youth leader arrived here from Singapore, amid fresh unrest in the capital following overnight rampages triggered by his death.

According to police, alleged radical right-wing activists set fire to the main office of the left-leaning Udichi Shilpigoshthi in the capital shortly after Sharif Osman Hadi’s body arrived in Dhaka from Singapore, where he had been undergoing treatment for fatal gunshot wounds inflicted by masked gunmen on December 12.

“The arson destroyed everything (inside Udichi's office)," said Jamshed Anwar, general secretary of the country's largest cultural organisation, founded in 1968.

The blaze has been brought under control, the fire service said.

A large number of police, BGB, and army members are deployed in front of the office.

Hadi was one of the leaders who had taken part in the student-led protests last year, termed as the July Uprising, and a candidate for the scheduled February 12 general elections.

The body of Hadi, who was the spokesperson of the Inqilab Mancha, arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) at around 6 pm local time on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight, amid tight security and widespread public mourning, state-run news agency BSS reported, quoting Biman General Manager (Public Relations) Boshra Islam.

Members of the Bangladesh Army, Armed Forces Battalion (AFB) and police were deployed in large numbers to maintain security when Hadi's body was taken out of the airport, it added.

In a televised address to the nation on late Thursday, interim government Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus vowed to bring those involved in Hadi's brutal murder to justice quickly, saying, “no leniency will be shown” to the killers.

He also urged citizens to keep "patience and restraint”.

However, various parts of the country were rocked Thursday night by attacks and vandalism, including stone-hurling at the Assistant Indian High Commissioner's residence in Chattogram, soon after Yunus confirmed Hadi's death.

Yunus has declared a one-day state mourning on Saturday.

The time of Hadi's funeral has been changed to 2 pm, the press wing of the interim government of Bangladesh has announced.

It said the funeral prayer will be held at the South Plaza of the National Parliament Building at 2 pm on Saturday. Earlier, it was announced that the funeral prayer would be held at 2:30 pm.

Those wishing to attend the janaza have been specially requested not to carry any bags or heavy items.

In a social media post, Inqilab Mancha said, "Upon the family's wishes, a decision has been taken to bury Hadi beside the grave of national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam and to hold his funeral prayer after Zuhr tomorrow at Manik Mia Avenue."

The party also announced that there will be no public viewing of the body, and people were requested to pray for Hadi while maintaining order.

Earlier on Thursday, soon after Yunus' announcement, protesters took to the streets and attacked the offices of two leading newspapers -- Prothom Alo and Daily Star, and vandalised Bangabandhu Memorial Museum with hammers in Dhaka, and demolished an office of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's now disbanded Awami League party in northwestern Rajshahi city.

“From the beginning, the ongoing failure of the current interim government to prevent mob violence has been evident, and the latest incident is yet another horrific example,” the Editors' Council and the Newspaper Owners' Association of Bangladesh (NOAB) said in a joint statement.

Protesters also hurled bricks and stones at the residence of the Assistant Indian High Commissioner in Chattogram at 1:30 am, but failed to cause any damage.

Police responded with tear gas and baton charges, dispersing the crowd and detaining 12 protesters. A few injuries were also reported.

Senior officials assured the assistant high commissioner of enhanced security.

A mob also attacked leading progressive cultural group Chhayanat, founded in 1961, at Dhnmando area and ransacked the seven-storey building floor by floor, destroying musical instruments, artworks, and important documents.

On Thursday night, the National Citizen Party (NCP), a major offshoot of Students Against Discrimination (SAD) that led the July uprising which ousted the Hasina-led government, joined a mourning procession on the Dhaka University campus.

Supporters of the group raised anti-India slogans, alleging that Hadi’s assailants fled to India after carrying out the murder, and demanded that the interim government shut the Indian High Commission until the suspects are returned.

“The interim government must close the Indian High Commission in Bangladesh until India returns the assassins of Hadi bhai. Now or never. We are in a war,” said Sarjis Alm, a key NCP leader.

Sporadic violence was also reported from other parts of the country overnight.

A Hindu man was lynched to death and his body set on fire over alleged blasphemy in Mymensingh city. The deceased, identified as 25-year-old Dipu Chandra Das, was a factory worker in the city.

In a statement, the interim government on Friday condemned the lynching, saying there is no space for such violence in the new Bangladesh. "The perpetrators of this heinous crime will not be spared," it added.

Meanwhile, after the flight from Singapore landed in Dhaka, videos shared on social media showed Hadi's followers lining up on both sides of the road from the airport to Shahbagh to receive him before his coffin, draped in the national flag, was brought to the Dhaka University Central Mosque for a public meeting.

Inqilab Mancha announced that a janaza will be held in Bangladesh on Saturday after Zuhr prayers (afternoon) at Manik Mia Avenue in the capital.

Hadi was shot in the head last week by masked gunmen as he initiated his election campaign at central Dhaka’s Bijoynagar area.

Former prime minister Khaleda Zia-led Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told BBC Bangla on Friday that recent incidents of mobs, vandalism and arson targeting various locations across the country are part of a broader conspiracy to destabilise Bangladesh.

Condemning the killing of Hadi, he said, "We think these mobs, attacks and acts of vandalism surrounding this incident are all part of a blueprint."

"Through these activities, there is an attempt to establish extremism in Bangladesh," he said.

The US Embassy in Dhaka on Friday issued an advisory, urging American citizens in Bangladesh to exercise caution, warning that "gatherings intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence".

The mission advised them to avoid demonstrations and exercise caution in the vicinity of any large gatherings.

The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has also issued a travel advisory, urging British citizens to avoid travel, unless very essential, to the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh, citing reports of violence and other criminal activity, particularly in remote parts.