Who Is Motaleb Sikder? Bangladesh Student Leader Shot Days After Osman Hadi’s Death

A senior student leader of Bangladesh’s National Citizen Party (NCP), Motaleb Sikder, was shot and injured by unidentified assailants in Khulna on Monday, amid continuing unrest in the country following the death of youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi.

Sikder, a key NCP organiser and the party’s divisional chief in Khulna, was shot in the head near his residence in the Sonadanga area of the city. The 42-year-old was rushed to Khulna Medical College Hospital in critical condition.

According to Sonadanga Model Police Station officer-in-charge Rafikul Islam, the shooting took place around 11:45 am near Gazi Medical College Hospital. “Miscreants opened fire targeting his head,” Islam said, as quoted by The Daily Star.

Doctors treating Sikder later said

he was out of immediate danger, as the bullet entered through one side of his ear and exited through the other, avoiding fatal injury.

Local media reports said Sikder was actively involved in organising an upcoming divisional labour rally of the National Citizen Party at the time of the attack. Prothom Alo reported that he also works as a central organiser of NCP’s labour wing, Sramik Shakti.

The shooting comes days after Bangladesh was rocked by violent protests following the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, a prominent figure in last year’s student-led movement that led to the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who later fled to New Delhi.

Hadi succumbed to gunshot injuries at a hospital in Singapore last week after being shot in Dhaka on December 12. His death triggered widespread protests across the country, during which several buildings were vandalised and set ablaze, including offices of major media houses such as Prothom Alo and The Daily Star.

The unrest has also seen violent incidents elsewhere. Earlier, a shooting was reported in the port city of Chattogram during a rally of the Bangladesh National Party, attended by hundreds of supporters.

Police said investigations into Sikder’s shooting are underway and no arrests have been made so far.Motaleb Sikder of NCP was shot in Khulna amid unrest after Sharif Osman Hadi’s death. Protests have rocked Bangladesh, with investigations ongoing and no arrests yet.