Bangladesh: Yunus govt had Osman Hadi killed to derail polls, says slain radical’s brother

Sharif Omar Hadi accused Bangladesh’s interim government of orchestrating his brother’s killing to disrupt February 2026 elections. Inqilab Moncho demanded a speedy trial within 30 working days and threatened protests, citing rising violence against minorities, media, and cultural institutions

Dhaka: As Bangladesh’s political landscape turned volatile in recent days, Sharif Omar Hadi, the brother of slain Sharif Osman Hadi, has accused a vested quarter within the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government of orchestrating the killing of his brother to derail the February 2026 polls, local media reported.

Slamming the interim government, during a programme organised by Inqilab Moncho outside the National Museum in Dhaka on Tuesday, spokesperson of the group Omar Hadi said, “It is you who had Osman Hadi killed, and now you are trying to foil the election by using this as an issue.”

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Omar added that his brother supported holding the national election by February and called on the Bangladeshi authorities not to hinder the election environment, the country’s leading newspaper, The Daily Star, reported.

“Ensure a speedy trial of the killers so the election environment is not harmed. The government has failed to show us any visible progress. If justice for Osman Hadi is not delivered, you too will be compelled to flee Bangladesh one day,” Omar Hadi stated.

Inqilab Moncho Member Secretary Abdullah Al Jaber, while speaking at the rally, reiterated the 30-working-day ultimatum given to the interim government to identify and arrest those responsible for the killing, first announced in a press statement earlier this week.

Earlier on Monday, Inqilab Moncho threatened to launch a movement to topple the Yunus-led interim government if justice is not delivered in the murder of its spokesperson, Hadi, local media reported.

Addressing a press conference in Dhaka, the platform’s member secretary Abdullah Al Jaber said that a 24-hour ultimatum announced during Hadi’s funeral on December 20 expired without any action from the interim government’s Home Advisor Jahangir Alam Chowdhury or the Bangladeshi authorities.

He alleged that neither the Home Advisor nor his special assistant attended the ministry’s briefing, calling it a move to trivialise the incident.

Later in the day, the organisation also called for the immediate resignations of the Home Advisor, his special assistant, and the law advisor, holding them responsible for the killing of its convener, Hadi. It further demanded that judicial proceedings in the Hadi killing case be completed within a maximum of 30 working days through a speedy trial tribunal.

Bangladesh has witnessed alarming violence targeting minorities, media houses, cultural institutions and diplomatic missions under the Yunus-led interim government following the death of Hadi on December 18.