Masuma Hadi, the younger sister of Shahid Sharif Osman Hadi, spokesperson of Inquilab Mancha, said her brother’s killing has set Bangladesh back by a thousand years. “If Osman Hadi had lived just five more years, he could have transformed the country into a place truly for the people,” she told reporters on Friday, January 2.
She urged that to keep her brother’s legacy alive, his work must continue. Masuma claimed that Osman Hadi was not killed by India, but by the ruling Awami League with the involvement of local agents and politicians. She added that the bullets that struck Osman Hadi symbolize how Bangladesh’s independence and sovereignty are being undermined. “If Osman Hadi were alive, extortion and terror would no longer exploit power, and money could not buy influence,” she said.
Masuma criticized the current government, saying it should have been a revolutionary one. She blamed the interim government for handing power to “Chuppu,” an ally of authoritarian Hasina, which disrupted movements whenever oaths were taken. She stressed that Bangladesh needs a revolutionary government and that justice must be served for Osman Hadi’s killing to ensure future leaders like him can emerge. She called for ending the use of money and motorcycles to manipulate elections and urged people to vote for politicians committed to Bangladesh’s progress, rather than based on party symbols.
She also alleged that Indian collaborators were behind attempts on Begum Khaleda Zia’s life and questioned why Tarique Rahman could not return to Bangladesh after August 5, 2024, blaming certain masked Indian agents.
On December 12, Shahid Sharif Osman Hadi was shot in an assassination attempt. He was initially treated at Dhaka Medical College Hospital and later at Evercare Hospital. Due to his deteriorating condition, he was airlifted to Singapore on December 15 for advanced treatment, where he passed away on December 18. He was subsequently buried in Dhaka, beside the Central Mosque of Dhaka University, near the grave of national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam.
