Anti-India Leader Behind 'Greater Bangladesh' Map Dies, Dhaka On Edge

Sharif Osman Hadi, a prominent leader of Bangladesh's student uprising last year, has died while undergoing treatment at a Singapore hospital after fighting for his life for six days. Hadi, a spokesperson for the Inquilab Mancha platform and a candidate in the general elections, was shot in the head by masked assailants last week while launching his election campaign in Dhaka. 

Late on Thursday, the Foreign Ministry in Singapore said Hadi succumbed to his injuries from an assassination attempt. The interim government of Muhammad Yunus had sent Hadi to Singapore earlier this week in an air ambulance for advanced treatment after doctors in Dhaka described his condition as "extremely critical".

"Despite the best efforts of the doctors from SGH and the National Neuroscience Institute, Mr Hadi succumbed to his injuries on 18 December 2025," the statement read.

Singapore said it was working to assist the Bangladesh High Commission in Singapore city to repatriate the leader's body to Dhaka.

Soon after the news of the 32-year-old youth leader's death broke, thousands of protesters took to the streets in Dhaka and other parts of Bangladesh to demand that his killers be arrested.

Also Read: Massive Protests Grip Bangladesh, Student Leader's Death Renews Violence

Who was Osman Hadi?

Hadi was a frontline leader of last year's July uprising, the student protests that ended the 15-year iron-fisted rule of ousted premier Sheikh Hasina. Hadi was a senior leader of the student protest group Inqilab Mancha, a group labelled as a radical outfit that was at the forefront of efforts to dismantle the Awami League. Despite its participation in the student uprising, the Muhammad Yunus government disbanded the party and has barred it from contesting the national elections.

Despite that, Hadi was a candidate for the upcoming polls and was campaigning as an independent candidate from the Dhaka-8 constituency. Born in 1994, in Nalchity Upazila of Jhalokhati district, into a Muslim family, Hadi was a radical leader with an anti-India stance. As per several reports, he circulated maps of so-called Greater Bangladesh that had several Indian territories. 

His campaign for the February 12 elections was in full swing when he was shot in the head by unidentified gunmen on December 12 while travelling in a battery-powered auto-rickshaw on Culvert Road in the Paltan area near the mosque in Dhaka. 

He was wounded in the ear and was rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and later transferred to Evercare Hospital. From Evercare Hospital, the interim government flew him to Singapore for treatment on Saturday, after doctors in Bangladesh said his condition was extremely critical. 

ALSO READ: "You Are Killing Me": 30 Bangladeshi Journalists Rescued From Office Set On Fire

Dhaka Launches Manhunt for Hadi's Killer

Police in Bangladesh also launched a manhunt for the attackers who shot Hadi, releasing photographs of two key suspects and offering a reward of five million taka (about $42,000) for information leading to their arrest. Dhaka police spokesman Muhammad Talebur Rahman also said that "border security has been put on high alert."

Interim leader Muhammad Yunus, the 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner leading Bangladesh until the February 12 elections, announced the national flag will be flown at half-mast at all government, semi-government, and private buildings, as well as at Bangladesh missions abroad, as part of mourning on Hadi's death.

Special prayers will be held after Jummah prayers on Friday, December 19, 2025, seeking forgiveness for Hadi's soul.

"The government will assume responsibility for the welfare of Martyr Osman Hadi's wife and his only child. In light of the untimely death of Martyr Sharif Osman Hadi, I am declaring a one-day national day of mourning on the coming Saturday. On this occasion, the national flag will fly at half-mast at all government, semi-government, and autonomous institutions; educational institutions; public and private buildings; and Bangladesh missions abroad on Saturday," he said.

ALSO READ: Bangladeshi Student Uprising Leader Osman Hadi Dies Week After Being Shot

Rise Of Anti-India Sentiments In Bangladesh

Since the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh is in a flux with radical Islam on the rise, with attempts being made to wipe out the legacy of the 1971 Liberation War and a complete detachment from India and affinity towards Pakistan, which was responsible for the torture, rape and murder of lakhs of Bangladeshis during the period.

Several anti-India statements continue to emanate from political platforms in Bangladesh, including provocative ones about India's northeast, which were initially triggered by Muhammad Yunus's comments on the region.

Days after the attack on Hadi, the Muhammad Yunus administration in Dhaka has sought India's help to arrest and hand over the shooters. New Delhi has, however, strongly rejected the allegations that the attackers had any connection with India.

India maintained that it completely rejects the false narrative sought to be created by extremist elements regarding the assassination attempt on Hadi.