B’desh mourns slain activist as tensions rise ahead of polls

Hundreds of thousands of people attended the funeral on Saturday of a leading Bangladeshi activist who died of gunshot wounds sustained in an attack in Dhaka earlier this month, as political tensions gripped the country ahead of elections.

- Agencies

A man holds a placard that reads “We all will be Hadi, we will keep fighting” as tens of thousands of people join the funeral prayer for Sharif Osman Hadi, a student leader, in Dhaka, on Saturday.

(REUTERS)

Bangladesh will hold parliamentary polls on February 12.

Sharif Osman Hadi, 32, who took part in last year’s political uprising that ended former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule, died in a hospital in Singapore on Thursday after being shot on December 12 in Dhaka, the Associated Press reported.

Security was tight in Dhaka on Saturday as the funeral prayers were held outside the nation’s Parliament complex.

Hadi’s body returned on Friday night, and Saturday was declared a national mourning day. Hadi was a spokesperson for the Ingilab Moncho culture group.