Another student leader has been shot in Bangladesh on Monday, deepening concerns over rising violence just days after the killing of youth leader Osman Hadi. The latest incident took place in Khulna, where Motaleb Shikder, a senior leader of the National Citizen Party (NCP), was targeted by gunmen.
Assailants opened fire at close range, aiming at his head, Bangladesh’s leading daily The Daily Star reported. Quoting police, the newspaper said the attack occurred around 11:45 am, after which Shikder was rushed to Khulna Medical College Hospital in a critical condition.
“Miscreants opened fire targeting his head around 11:45 am, and he was rushed to Khulna Medical College Hospital in critical condition,” Animesh Mondol, officer-in-charge (investigation) of Sonadanga Model Police Station, said. Mondol later said Shikder was out of danger, explaining that the bullet had grazed him. “The bullet entered through one side of his ear, pierced the skin and exited through the other side,” he said.
According to a Facebook statement by Mahmuda Mitu, joint principal coordinator of the NCP, Shikder serves as the party’s Khulna divisional chief and is also a central organiser of NCP Sramik Shakti. The National Citizen Party was formed earlier this year following the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. The party was initiated by the Students Against Discrimination platform and the Jatiya Nagorik Committee, and was formally launched on February 28, becoming Bangladesh’s first student-led political party.
The shooting comes days after the death of Osman Hadi, a key figure of the 2024 student uprising, who succumbed to bullet injuries on Thursday. Hadi had been attacked in Dhaka on December 12 and was later airlifted to Singapore General Hospital for advanced treatment. “Despite the best efforts of the doctors from SGH and the National Neuroscience Institute, Mr Hadi succumbed to his injuries on 18 December 2025,” Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in an official statement.
Bangladesh Police said on Sunday that they had no “specific information” on the whereabouts of the prime suspect in Hadi’s killing. The statement came a day after Hadi’s Inqilab Mancha party issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the interim government, demanding “visible progress” in arresting those responsible.
Hadi’s death triggered violent protests and vandalism across several parts of the country, including stone-pelting at the Indian Assistant High Commission in Chattogram. He was laid to rest on Saturday under heavy security near the grave of national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, beside the Dhaka University mosque.
