Tensions simmer in Bangladesh’s capital as a high-ranking BNP leader fell victim to gunfire in Kalabagan late Sunday. Shafiqur Rahman, the 55-year-old joint general secretary of BNP’s Kalabagan Ward-16 and a shoe supplier, was hit in his left arm by bullets from shadowy gunmen near a local shoe market in the police station vicinity.
Shopkeeper Shahparan Mutabbar, who aided in transporting the bleeding leader to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, vividly recalled: ‘It happened abruptly—a bullet tore into his left arm.’ Hospital police chief Inspector Mohammad Faruk affirmed the patient’s emergency admission from Kalabagan, with notifications sent to local police for a probe.
Strikingly, this outrage follows BNP’s dominant win in the 13th parliamentary polls under Tarique Rahman, just as the party assumes power. It signals potential backlash against the electoral outcome.
The violence fits a pattern of election aftermath chaos. Last week’s clashes in five districts injured nine and razed a home to the ground. On February 14, BNP infighting in Natore’s Lalpur sub-district hospitalized six, yielding two arrests and a confiscated pistol, per Daily Star citing police.
HRSS’s comprehensive report documents 700+ violent episodes nationwide from the October 2025 poll call-up to February 14: 10 fatalities, 2,503 injuries, 34 shootings, and destruction at over 500 locations—homes, vehicles, businesses, and voting centers alike.
Experts highlight dire prospects for Tarique Rahman’s government succeeding Yunus’s 18-month tenure, grappling with unrest and surging Islamist militancy. Rahman’s wounding amplifies fears of a turbulent era ahead, urging decisive interventions to safeguard democracy.