Unidentified gunmen on Monday shot Motaleb Shikder, a leader of Bangladesh’s student-led 2024 uprising, in the head in Khulna city, days after the killing of prominent youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi, marking a second high-profile attack following the killing of Sharif Osman Hadi earlier this month.
Shikder, 32, serves as the Khulna Division head of the National Citizen Party (NCP) and central coordinator of its workers’ front. “The Khulna Division head of NCP and central coordinator of the party’s workers front, Motaleb Shikder, was shot a few minutes ago,” NCP’s joint principal coordinator Mahmuda Mitu said on Facebook.
He was immediately rushed to Khulna Medical College Hospital in critical condition. According to reports, Shikder was shot on the left side of his head and was bleeding profusely upon arrival. Emergency treatment was commenced to stabilise him.
The attack comes just days after the assassination of Hadi, a prominent youth leader whose killing on December 12 at an election campaign in central Dhaka’s Bijoynagar area had intensified unrest. Hadi, who represented the Inqilab Mancha and was contesting the upcoming February 12 general elections, succumbed to injuries in Singapore on Thursday.
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Following Hadi’s death, the interim government under Muhammad Yunus staged nationwide mourning and vowed that no effort would be spared to apprehend the perpetrators, as violent protests erupted across Dhaka and other major cities.
In the wake of Monday’s shooting, Faisal Karim Masud’s parents, wife, and a female friend of the prime suspect were taken into custody, though authorities remain uncertain of his current location. Police said an immediate manhunt has been launched to track the attackers.
Local police station chief Animesh Mondal said Shikder was later shifted to the City Imaging Centre to ascertain the extent of his injuries. Investigators remain unclear on both motive and identity of the assailants.
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