Hadi's colleagues told reporters that while he was campaigning, two men on a motorcycle approached him and shot him in the head before fleeing the scene. Hadi urgently needs B-negative blood, they added.

 

Deputy Commissioner (DC) of DMP Motijheel Division Mohammad Harun-or-Rashid said, “We have heard that Osman Hadi was shot in the Bijoynagar area. We have sent a team, and once they confirm the details, we will share more information.”

The attack occurred a day after the Election Commission announced the schedule for the 13th parliamentary election, intensifying anxiety among prospective candidates over the country’s law-and-order situation.

The broad-daylight shooting has prompted widespread questions about public safety and the effectiveness of the interim government in maintaining order. Leaders of different political parties and organisations expressed deep concern and demanded the government to find the perpetrators to bring them to book.

Hadi, a prominent figure in the 2024 July Uprising that toppled the fascist Sheikh Hasina-led government, was shot in the head on Box Culvert Road in Bijoynagar shortly after Juma prayers. He was fighting for his life in the Intensive Care Unit of Evercare Hospital.

Brig Gen Md Asaduzzaman, director of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), said the victim sustained a bullet injury to the head and DMCH doctors conducted a primary surgery before transferring him to Evercare Hospital for advanced treatment.

Witness Md Rafi said, “I was on a rickshaw behind Hadi Bhai’s rickshaw. When he reached Box Culvert Road, two men on a motorcycle came close and shot him. They sped off immediately.”

Hadi was initially taken to DMCH and later shifted to Evercare Hospital.

CCTV footage shows two helmeted men trailing a battery-powered rickshaw. One of the two, seated at the back of the motorcycle, pulled out a firearm and fired at close range before fleeing.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Talebur Rahman said the incident occurred at about 2:25pm. Police were analysing CCTV footage and conducting raids to trace the attackers.

In a Facebook post on 13 November, Hadi claimed he had received threats from at least 30 foreign numbers.

He wrote that individuals he described as “killers of Awami League” had called and texted him, saying he was under constant surveillance and threatening to burn his house, harm his family, and kill him.