Bangladesh: Another student leader shot in head

In Bangladesh, unidentified gunmen on Monday shot in the head a second leader of violent student-led 2024 uprising in the country's southwestern Khulna city, days after the killing of prominent youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi. "The Khulna Division head of NCP (National Citizen Party) and central coordinator of the party’s workers front, Muhammad Motalib Sikdar, was shot," NCP’s joint principal coordinator Mahmuda Mitu said in a Facebook post. Mitu, a doctor, said Sarkar 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,” the newspaper outlet The Daily Star quoted Animesh Mondol, officer-in-charge (investigation) of Sonadanga Model Police Station, as saying. According to party leaders, Sikder had been involved in preparations for an upcoming divisional labour rally in Khulna, scheduled to be held in the coming days. While initial reports described his condition as critical, party sources later said the bullet grazed his skull and his condition is now stable.

The National Citizen Party was initiated by the Students Against Discrimination and the Jatiya Nagorik Committee in Bangladesh following the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The party was established on February 28 earlier this year as the first student-led political party in the history of Bangladesh.

The development comes as Bangladesh is set to hold its elections in February 2026, with political tensions running high. As the polls draw closer, violence has intensified across the country, with reports of violent protests and attacks on Hindu minorities.