Anti-India Protests At Dhaka University: NDTV Reports From Ground Zero

Fresh anti-India protests have erupted in Dhaka as Bangladesh remains tense ahead of February general elections. Anti-India slogans were raised again at a massive procession at Dhaka University after the Friday prayers, reports NDTV's Ankit Tyagi. The procession was led by the supporters of Sharif Osman Hadi, an anti-leader of the Inquilab Mancho, whose assassination earlier this month triggered a fresh wave of unrest in the Southeast Asian nation.

"I am Hadi" slogans rent the air, with the protesters demanding a speedy trial and the hanging of his killers.

A section of protesters in Bangladesh claim that Hadi's killers had crossed over to Bangladesh to escape the law after the high-profile assassination. Dhaka even sought India's help to arrest the killers, but New Delhi strongly rejected the allegation, as the ties between the two countries took a further dip.

Read: Tarique Rahman, The 'Dark Prince' And A 'Shadow PMO' That Ran Bangladesh

The unrest across Bangladesh poses a fresh challenge for the interim regime led by Muhammad Yunus, with Dhaka University remaining on the boil. The university had been at the forefront of the 2024 student uprising that ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

Meanwhile, a canteen at the heart of the university, frequented by the student leaders, was vandalised yesterday. Madhur Canteen, named after a freedom fighter, now has "boycott" slogans scribbled over its walls. The windows are broken.

Madhur Canteen in Dhaka University was vandalised yesterday

Located opposite to the university's union office, the canteen serves as an "intellectual nerve centre" of Dhaka University's politics, explained journalist Mohammad Kamruzzaman. The vandals likely wanted to gain attention through such acts of violence at a prominent gathering point, he added.

"An unknown man came and started throwing around tables and chairs. He didn't say anything, just screamed. The students present at the canteen eventually caught him and handed him over to the proctor's team," recounted a canteen staff.

The situation isn't very different outside the charred office building of the Prothom Alo newspaper. Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) remains deployed here as fears of fresh violence linger in Bangladesh. The building was set on fire by a mob during widespread violence in Dhaka in a fallout of Hadi's death.

Hadi was assassinated by masked gunmen on December 12 when he was travelling in a battery-powered rickshaw after Friday prayers. He died in a Singapore hospital on December 18.