Security has been tightened at the Indian Assistant High Commission office and the visa application centre in Bangladesh’s Sylhet city following rising tensions after the death of youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi, officials said.
The additional security arrangements were put in place to ensure that “no third party can take advantage of the situation,” Sylhet Metropolitan Police Additional Deputy Commissioner (Media) Saiful Islam told The Dhaka Tribune on December 20.
Police said security was strengthened from December 19 at the Assistant High Commission office in the Upashahar area, the Assistant High Commissioner’s residence nearby, and the visa application centre at Shobhanighat. Security personnel were also deployed overnight as a precautionary measure.
The move comes in the wake of Hadi’s death, after which Gano Odhikar Parishad announced plans to lay siege to the Assistant High Commission office. Inqilab Mancha, meanwhile, held a sit-in demonstration at the Sylhet Central Shaheed Minar, raising slogans against what it termed “Indian dominance,” according to reports.
Hadi, who served as spokesperson of Inqilab Mancha, had emerged as a key figure during last year’s student-led protests that eventually led to the fall of the Awami League government headed by former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. He was also contesting the upcoming general elections scheduled for February 12.
The 32-year-old was shot in the head by unidentified assailants during an election campaign in Dhaka’s Bijoynagar area on December 12. He later succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment in Singapore on Thursday.
His death triggered incidents of violence and vandalism in different parts of Bangladesh, including stone-pelting at the residence of the Assistant Indian High Commissioner in Chattogram.
Hadi was buried on Saturday amid tight security near the grave of poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, close to the Dhaka University Mosque. A massive crowd attended the funeral prayers, where slogans such as “Dhaka, not Delhi” and “Hadi’s blood will not go in vain” were raised.
Following the funeral, Inqilab Mancha issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the interim government, demanding visible progress in identifying and arresting those behind the killing.