The body of Bangladeshi political activist Sharif Osman Hadi has arrived in Dhaka after he passed away while undergoing medical treatment in Singapore, officials have said.
The coffin carrying Osman Hadi arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Friday evening aboard a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight from Singapore. Airport and airline officials said the flight landed shortly before 6:00pm local time after departing Singapore’s Changi International Airport earlier in the day.
Osman Hadi, a spokesperson of the Inqilab Mancha platform, had been critically injured after being shot in the head during an election campaign in Dhaka’s Puranapaltan area on 12 December.
He was initially taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where doctors carried out emergency surgery, before being transferred to the intensive care unit at Evercare Hospital in the capital.
After three days of treatment, he was flown to Singapore by air ambulance on 15 December for advanced medical care. He later died on Thursday night while receiving treatment at Singapore General Hospital.
Security was tightened at the airport, with members of the Bangladesh Army, Armed Forces Battalion and police deployed in large numbers as the body was received. The repatriation was carried out under heightened security arrangements, airline officials said.
Osman Hadi’s death has triggered widespread mourning among political activists and supporters. In a statement posted on social media, Inqilab Mancha described him as a key figure in its movement and announced that his funeral prayers would be held on Saturday after Zuhr prayers at Manik Mia Avenue in Dhaka.
Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus has declared a one-day state mourning on Saturday in response to Osman Hadi’s death.
The killing has drawn national attention amid heightened concerns over political violence during Bangladesh’s election period.
