Bangladesh on edge after activist's death

Dhaka calls for calm amid rising tensions

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SYDNEY: Police and paramilitary troops fanned out across Dhaka and other cities in Bangladesh yesterday after violent protests overnight over the death of a popular youth leader, with concerns of further unrest ahead of national elections in which he was due to run.

Streets were calm in the morning, but residents in the Muslim-majority South Asian nation said they were worried there could be fresh violence after Friday prayers later in the day.

Sharif Osman Hadi, 32, was a spokesperson for the Inquilab Mancha, or Platform for Revolution, and participated in the student-led protests that overthrew the government of prime minister Sheikh Hasina last year. He was shot in the head by masked assailants in Dhaka on Dec 12 while launching his campaign for the elections.

Hadi was initially treated at a local hospital before being flown to Singapore for advanced medical care, where he died after spending six days on life support.

Hadi was an outspoken critic of India, and Inquilab Mancha describes itself on its website as a “revolutionary cultural platform inspired by the spirit of uprising”.