Sheikh Hasina's Awami League ordered killing of Osman Hadi? Chargesheet blames party's youth wing for murder

educatee leader Sharif Osman Hadi, whose dying led to large-scale protests and violence in Bangladesh, was killed as a result of a “political vendetta” ordered by the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League’s youth wing, Bangladesh police said on Tuesday. A chargesheet submitted in the matter named 17 people, including prime suspect Faisal Karim Masud.

Hadi’s death sparked massive protests in Bangladesh, as mobs of people set the main offices of Prothom Alo and The Daily Star newspapers on fire, while violence against Hindus, including the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das, made headlines.

According to the chargesheet, the mastermind behind the killing is Taijul Islam Chowdhury Bappi, who is the organising secretary of the Jubo League’s Dhaka (north) city unit and is suspected to have planned and ordered the killing. Notably, the Jubo League is the now-banned Awami League’s youth wing.

Faisal Karim, who has been identified as the shooter in the Hadi murder case, is reportedly a former Chhatra League leader, while his accomplice, Alamgir, is a member of the Adabar Thana Jubo League, Prothom Alo said in a report. Notably, the Chhatra League is the student wing of the Hasina-led Awami League.

Hadi, an aspiring independent parliamentary candidate from Dhaka-8, had openly criticised the past activities of the now-banned Awami League and Chhatra League through public rallies and on social media, detective branch (DB) chief of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Shafiqul Islam said.

He added, “His outspoken remarks angered leaders and activists of the Chhatra League and its affiliated organisations.”

“Considering the political identities of the accused and the victim’s previous political statements, the investigation has revealed that Hadi was shot dead due to political vendetta,” he was quoted as saying by Bangladesh’s The Business Standard.

Police said that Bappi, the mastermind behind the shooting, helped the shooter flee to India before escaping to India himself, a charge that the Border Security Force (BSF) here has already denied.

Inqilab Moncho, the party of the slain student leader, has reportedly rejected the allegations made in the chargesheet, claiming that the killing was part of a bigger conspiracy and not just the work of a single person.

“The government claims a ward councillor instructed Faisal Karim Masud to shoot Hadi. Even a madman would not believe this. The murder was carried out by a wider network, with direct involvement of the state machinery. Until those forces are brought to justice, our struggle will not stop. Any charge sheet that excludes them is unacceptable to us,” party member secretary Abdullah Al Jaber was quoted as saying by The Daily Star.

Out of the 17 accused named in the chargesheet, 11 are in police custody, while six others are absconding.

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