Slain Bangla Leader’s Brother Faults Yunus Govt for Murder
Omar Hadi was quoted by media reports as saying, It is you who had Osman Hadi killed, and now you are trying to derail the election by using this issue
New Delhi: Even as attacks on Hindus continue in Bangladesh’s Chittagong region, Omar Hadi, the brother of slain student leader Osman Hadi, has accused the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government of orchestrating his brother’s killing.
Addressing a “Shahidi Shopoth” (Martyr’s Oath) programme organised by Inqilab Mancha in front of the National Museum at Shahbagh, Omar Hadi was quoted by media reports as saying, “It is you who had Osman Hadi killed, and now you are trying to derail the election by using this issue.”
Osman Hadi, described in reports as an anti-India student leader, was shot dead a few days ago by unidentified gunmen who remain at large.
Meanwhile, the continuing attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh have drawn condemnation from India’s ruling BJP and Bangladeshi-origin author Taslima Nasreen. Reports said radical groups have been locking Hindu homes from the outside at night and setting them on fire to prevent residents from escaping. In one such incident, eight members of a Hindu family narrowly escaped death by cutting through a tin roof and bamboo fencing. The modus operandi has reportedly been similar in multiple attacks over recent days.
India has expressed serious concern over the situation. On Tuesday, New Delhi summoned Bangladesh High Commissioner Riaz Hamidullah for the second time in a week to convey its concerns over the deteriorating law-and-order situation in the neighbouring country.
Amid mounting criticism, a senior adviser in the Bangladesh interim government said the State would take responsibility for the family of a Hindu worker lynched on blasphemy charges last week. Bangladesh education adviser C.R. Abrar met the family of 25-year-old Dipu Das, a garment factory worker who was beaten to death and his body set on fire by a mob in Mymensingh on December 18.
“The State has taken responsibility for the care of Dipu Das’s child, wife and parents,” Abrar was quoted as saying, describing the killing as a “brutal crime with no excuse.” He said he had spoken to Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, who asked him to convey the government’s “profound sorrow and deepest condolences” to the family.
However, the Yunus-led interim government has come under criticism from sections of civil society, foreign governments and human rights organisations, which accuse it of failing to rein in radical elements and prevent violence, thereby appearing complicit in the continuing attacks.