Dhaka, Dec 22: Unidentified gunmen shot a senior student leader in Bangladesh’s south-western city of Khulna on Monday, days after the fatal shooting of prominent youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi, officials and party leaders said.
Muhammad Motaleb Sikdar, Khulna division head of the National Citizen Party and a central coordinator of its workers’ front, was shot in the head and rushed to Khulna Medical College Hospital in critical condition, party officials said.
“The Khulna Division head of the NCP and central coordinator of the party’s workers’ front, Muhammad Motaleb Sikdar, was shot a few minutes ago,” NCP joint principal coordinator Mahmuda Mitu said in a Facebook post.
Mitu, who is a doctor, said Sikdar was bleeding heavily when he was brought to hospital.
The daily Kaler Kantha, citing hospital sources, reported that the bullet struck the left side of Sikdar’s head and that doctors immediately began emergency treatment.
The attack follows the December 12 shooting of Sharif Osman Hadi, a key figure in last year’s student-led protests that culminated in the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government.
Hadi, 32, a spokesperson for Inqilab Mancha and a candidate in the February 12 general elections, died last week while undergoing treatment in Singapore after being shot in central Dhaka’s Bijoynagar area during an election campaign.
Following Hadi’s death, the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus announced a day of national mourning and said it would intensify efforts to identify and arrest those responsible, as protests and violence erupted in Dhaka and other cities.
