Awami League office in Rajshahi demolished with bulldozer amid protests following Hadi’s death
The demolition comes after the news of Hadi’s death while undergoing treatment in Singapore
An office of the Rajshahi Metropolitan Awami League was demolished with a bulldozer today (19 December) amid heightened tensions in the city following the death of Inqilab Mancha leader Sharif Osman Hadi.
Witnesses said a group of protesters brought a bulldozer to the party office located in the Kumarpara area around 1:30am and began tearing down the structure.
The demolition comes after the news of Hadi's death while undergoing treatment in Singapore. Hadi was shot on 12 December during an election campaign event in Dhaka and had remained in critical condition since then.
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Around 11pm yesterday, a large protest march began on the Rajshahi University campus, comprising leaders and members of the Rajshahi University Central Students' Union (Rucsu), Islami Chhatra Shibir, and general students.
The march started from Zoha Chattar and moved through several campus roads before heading towards Saheb Bazar Zero Point in the city centre.
As the march reached the city, protesters gathered in front of the Rajshahi Metropolitan Awami League office, chanting slogans against what they described as the "ousted fascist regime" and foreign interference.
The demonstrators also demanded the immediate removal of the Indian Assistant High Commission in Rajshahi, accusing the neighbouring country of interfering in Bangladesh's internal affairs and supporting the fallen Awami League regime.
During the rally at Zero Point, Mostakur Rahman Zahid, the newly elected Rucsu VP and president of RU Islami Chhatra Shibir, delivered a provocative speech.
He directed his criticism toward national dailies, specifically naming The Daily Star and the Bangla daily Prothom Alo, and called for their closure, labelling them as "liberal" outlets acting against national interests.
Zahid further instructed journalists from these two media organisations to leave the protest site immediately. "These newspapers must be shut down," he told the crowd, amidst cheers from the protesters.
