A Bangladeshi student political leader from the National Citizen Party (NCP) was shot and injured in Khulna on Monday, according to The Daily Star.
The development comes after Sharif Osman Hadi, a key figure in last year’s student-led uprising that toppled longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was shot in the head by masked assailants in Dhaka on December 16 while launching his campaign for an election due in February. He died last Thursday in Singapore after six days on life support.
According to The Daily Star, the injured 42-year-old Mohammad Motaleb Sikder is the NCP’s divisional chief in Khulna.
“Miscreants opened fire targeting his head around 11:45am (10:45am PKT) near Gazi Medical College Hospital in the city,” the paper reported, quoting Rafikul Islam, the officer-in-charge of Sonadanga Model Police Station. “He was rushed to Khulna Medical College Hospital in critical condition.”
Quoting the officer, the publication reported that Sidker was “out of danger”, as the bullet entered through one side of his ear, pierced the skin, and exited through the other side.
Following the attack on Hadi, violent protests broke out and several buildings, including those housing leading newspapers Prothom Alo and The Daily Star, were set on fire and vandalised, according to authorities.
In November, gunmen on motorbikes attacked a Bangladesh political rally, killing one person and wounding two others, including a candidate, as campaigning for February’s landmark elections was underway.
The shooting took place at a rally of the Bangladesh National Party (BNP), attended by hundreds in the port city of Chattogram, police said.
