Bangladesh interim govt orders security clampdown as fresh unrest grips country

Dhaka: Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus-led interim government on Saturday ordered a nationwide security clampdown as fresh unrest gripped the country following the shooting of a right-wing cultural group's youth leader.

Inquilab Mancha leader Sharif Osmann Hadi, also a candidate in the scheduled February 12 general elections, was shot on Friday as he initiated his election campaign at central Dhaka’s Bijoynagar area.

According to doctors, his condition is very critical.

"The government is going to start the second phase of Operation Devil Hunt to help ensure public safety and combat the growing threat of illegal arms," Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (Retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury told a press conference.

The interim government first launched the Operation Devil hunt in February this year, following protests over an attack on a former minister's private house in the northern suburb of the capital. The operation targeted alleged “henchmen” and supporters of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s now disbanded Awami League.

Home Adviser Chowdhury announced a reward of Taka 50 lakh (USD 40,985.81) for information leading to the arrest of one of the suspects who shot Hadi. Meanwhile, police issued the suspect's pictures, identifying him as Faisal Karim Masud.

He was one of the three motorcycle-borne assailants who shot Hadi in the head from close range in Bijoynagar, where the youth leader is contesting as an independent candidate.

Newspaper reports quoting Hadi’s associates said the assailants were acquainted with him and had accompanied him since Friday morning, a day after the election commission announced the poll schedule.

Hadi was initially rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) following the shooting, from where he was shifted overnight to the specialised Evercare Hospital.

“His (Hadi’s) condition is critical. He has been provided a life support system,” DMCH Director Brigadier General Mohammad Asaduzzaman told reporters earlier.

Doctors at Evercare said on Saturday that Hadi's condition “remains static” but “not out of danger”, while the medical board formed for him preferred not to perform any surgery immediately, relying on medication and supportive treatment for now.

Chief Adviser Yunus ordered a manhunt for the suspects, and on Saturday met Hadi’s family members, assuring them of all support for his treatment.

"The whole country is praying for him, and everyone is trying to ensure that he receives the best medical care,” Yunus said.

Hadi was a frontline leader of last year’s student-led violent street protest dubbed the July Uprising, which toppled the Hasina-led Awami League government on August 5.

Home Adviser Chowdhury said the government had taken steps to ensure special security for the “frontline fighters” of the July Uprising, adding MP candidates would also be issued firearm licenses if they wanted. He said that candidates who earlier handed over their licensed weapons to the authorities, would be returned their arms.

Meanwhile, critically ill former prime minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party, as well as the Jamaat-e-Islami, and student-led National Citizen Party (NCP) strongly criticised the attack on Hadi.

NCP chief organiser Hasnat Abdullah, Hadi’s close comrade during and after the uprising, said, “There would be no place for fascists (Awami League) in Bangladesh, regardless of the name or platform under which they operate.” “We take an oath in Osman Hadi's blood – they will not be given even an inch of space in this country," he told a protest rally.

The Inquilab Mancha spearheads a campaign to arrest “all terrorists” of the disbanded Awami League from the central to grassroots levels and ensure security of the “July warriors”.

It was at the forefront of a campaign to disband the Awami League, which the Yunus-led interim government did in May this year, disqualifying it from contesting the polls.