Violence Under Yunus Govt: Journalist Assaulted Covering Bin Hadi Shooting incident
Dhaka Dec 13: Amid growing incidents of violence under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, concerns over the safety of journalists in Bangladesh have intensified after a reporter was assaulted. The media-person came under attack while covering the shooting of Sharif Osman Bin Hadi, spokesperson of the activist platform Inqilab Mancha.
The attack took place on Friday afternoon at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), where the journalist, identified as Risan, had gone to gather information about Hadi’s condition. According to local media reports, supporters of the injured student-turned-politician obstructed the journalist from filming near the hospital’s emergency department before physically assaulting him.
Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, Risan said he was confronted by several individuals who attempted to stop him from recording video footage. When he questioned their actions, he was allegedly attacked and managed to escape only with the assistance of another journalist present at the scene.
Shooting of Bin Hadi
Sharif Osman Bin Hadi, who was reportedly preparing to contest as an independent candidate from the Dhaka-8 constituency in the upcoming national elections, was shot in broad daylight in Dhaka’s Bijoynagar area. He sustained a gunshot wound to the head and remains in critical condition on life support at DMCH.
Providing details of the attack, Deputy Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Muhammad Talebur Rahman told Prothom Alo that the assailants arrived on a motorcycle around 2:25 pm and opened fire on Hadi while he was travelling in a rickshaw through the Box Culvert area of Bijoynagar.
Medical officials at DMCH have described Hadi’s condition as extremely grave. Zahid Raihan, head of the hospital’s neurosurgery department, said the victim suffered severe blood loss and multiple cardiac arrests. Despite emergency surgery, doctors expressed little optimism about his recovery. “He is in the worst possible condition, though still alive. From here, everything depends on God’s will,” Raihan was quoted as saying by The Daily Star.
Doctors confirmed that while the bullet passed through the head, several fragments remained lodged in the brain, some of which were removed during surgery.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sheikh Md Sajjat Ali confirmed that law enforcement agencies have identified those involved in the shooting and that arrests could take place at any time. “The assailants have been identified. Police operations are ongoing, and arrests may be made at any moment,” he said, as quoted by local media.
Observers note that Bangladesh has seen a sharp rise in violent incidents, political unrest, and attacks on media personnel in recent months, raising serious questions about law and order and the ability of journalists to operate freely during the crucial pre-election period.
The twin incidents of political violence and a reported assault on a journalist occurred just a day after Bangladesh’s Election Commission announced that the 13th national parliamentary elections, along with the July Charter referendum, will be held on February 12 next year. (With inputs from IANS)
