Amid ongoing unrest in Bangladesh following the killing of youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi, another leader of the National Civic Party (NCP) was shot dead in the city of Khulna on Monday.
Unidentified gunmen opened fire on Motaleb Shikder, NCP Khulna divisional chief and NCP central organizer Sramik Shakti, according to a NewAge report. The report said Khulna Metropolitan Police’s Additional Commissioner for Crime Mohammad Rashidul Islam Khan said Motaleb sustained a bullet wound in his ear after “unknown gunmen opened fire on him and allegedly aimed at his head”.
Read also | ‘Don’t say I’m a Hindu’, Yunus warns Bangladeshi minorities amid attack allegations
The incident took place at a house in the Sonadanga area of Khulna, police said, according to reports.
The attack comes in the wake of nationwide violence sparked by the death of Hadi, the founder of Inqilab Mancha, a radical student group at Dhaka University.
Here’s what the police said
“Miscreants opened fire on his head at around 11.45am and he was taken to Khulna Medical College Hospital in a critical condition,” Daily Star reported, quoting Superintendent (Investigation) of Sonadanga Police Station Model Animesh Mondola.
The officer said Motaleb was out of danger, explaining that the bullet entered one side of his ear, grazed his skin and exited the other side.
The National Civic Party was formed by the Students Against Discrimination and the Jatiya Nagorik Committee after the removal of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. It is Bangladesh’s first student-led political party, founded on February 28 this year.
Assassination of Osman Hadi
The incident comes in the wake of the assassination of Hadi, a prominent leader of student protests last year that led to the ouster of the Awami League government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Hadi was a candidate in the general election scheduled for February 12.
Read also | Violence in Dhaka: Journalist Prothom Alo says they ‘had to flee’ | Watch
The 32-year-old spokesperson of Inqilab Mancha was shot in the head on December 12 by masked gunmen during an election campaign in the central Bijoynagar area of Dhaka. He died on Thursday while undergoing treatment in Singapore.
His death on Thursday sparked attacks and vandalism in Bangladesh, including stone-pelting at the Indian Assistant High Commissioner’s residence in Chattogram.
A half-burnt book lies at the vandalized Chhayanaut office in Dhaka on December 19, 2025, amid protests following news of the death of youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi. (Photo: Abdul Goni / AFP)(AFP)Members of the Hindu United Front protest in Delhi on Sunday against the mob lynching of Dipu Chandra Das in Bangladesh. (United Hindu Front/ANI Video Grab)(Hindu United Front)
Following the violence following Hadi’s death, 25-year-old Hindu Dipu Chandra Das was killed by a mob in Mymensingh city on Thursday night. According to reports, he was employed as a laborer at the Pioneer Knit Composite Factory, a garment factory in the Square Masterbari area of Dhaka.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said around 20-25 youth gathered outside the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi on Saturday and raised slogans protesting the “horrific killing” of Dipu Chandra Das.
“At no time was there any attempt to breach the fence or create a security situation,” the ministry said, adding that police dispersed the group after a few minutes.
Read also | Bangladesh lynching – Who was Dipu Chandra Das and why was he targeted?
The protesters also called for the protection of all minorities in Bangladesh, the MEA said.
But Bangladesh on Sunday rejected India’s remarks regarding the demonstration outside its high commission in Delhi, questioning how the protesters could come so close to the secure diplomatic enclave.
An employee arranges the vandalized Chhayanaut office in Dhaka on December 19, 2025 amid protests following news of the death of youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi. Several buildings in the capital, including those housing the country’s two leading newspapers, were set on fire and staff were trapped inside, authorities said. (Photo: Abdul Goni / AFP)(AFP)
Meanwhile, two more persons were arrested in connection with Das’ lynching on Sunday. With the latest arrest, 12 people have been detained for their alleged involvement in the murder, The Daily Star reported, citing police and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) sources.
On 17 December, the MEA summoned Bangladeshi envoy Riaz Hamidullah and expressed its strong concern over some extremist elements announcing plans to create a security situation around the Indian mission in Dhaka.
(With input from agencies)
