Tensions simmer in Dhaka as Bangladesh’s caretaker government pledges to seek a United Nations-led investigation into the shocking assassination of Inkilab Mancha spokesperson Sharif Usman Hadi. Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam, speaking for Chief Adviser Mohammad Yunus, revealed on social media that an official request will go to the UN Human Rights High Commissioner, aiming to quell demands for justice.
Sparked by Inkilab Mancha’s sit-in protest at Jamuna House, the government’s response addresses a growing crisis. The Thursday evening gathering included Abdullah Al Jabbar, Fatima Tasnim Juma, Hadi’s spouse, and loyalists. Jabbar rallied the group, stressing their choice of intimate defiance over large crowds: ‘We stand with Hadi’s wife until the Chief Adviser guarantees action—no justice, no retreat.’
Protest communications online highlighted the drama: hemmed in by police with lathis at the ready, demonstrators proclaimed, ‘UN probe or nothing; we’ll face death before budging on Hadi’s murder.’
Hadi, aged 32, rose to fame in the 2024 anti-Hasina protests and was contesting the February 12 elections. Labeled an Islamist agitator with anti-India leanings, he was gunned down on December 12, 2025, on Paltan Road by bike-borne attackers. Flown to Singapore, he died on December 18 despite medical efforts.
Authorities deem it a politically fueled hit planned abroad, filing cases against 17 in court. With protests ongoing and polls nearing, the UN involvement could either pacify radicals or expose deeper fractures in Bangladesh’s fragile transition.