Dhaka, Dec 22: Unidentified gunmen, on Monday, shot Motaleb Shikder, a senior leader associated with Bangladesh’s violent student-led 2004 uprising, in the head in the southwestern city of Khulna, triggering fresh concerns over political violence in the country.
“The Khulna Division head of NCP (National Citizen Party) and central coordinator of the party’s workers front, Motaleb Shikder, was shot a few minutes ago,” said Mahmuda Mitu, joint principal coordinator of the NCP, in a Facebook post.
Mitu, a doctor by profession, said Shikder was rushed to Khulna Medical College Hospital in a critical condition.
The daily Kaler Kantha, quoting hospital sources, reported that Shikder was shot on the left side of his head and was bleeding profusely when he was brought to the hospital, where doctors initiated emergency treatment.
Police said they were yet to ascertain the identity of the attackers or the motive behind the shooting, but an “immediate manhunt” had been launched.
Khulna police station chief Animesh Mondal told the press that Shikder was later shifted to the City Imaging Centre of Khulna Medical College Hospital to assess the extent of his injuries.
The attack occurred in Khulna’s Majid Sarani area, days after the killing of prominent youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi on December 12 attack.
Hadi, the 32-year-old spokesperson of Inqilab Mancha and a candidate in the scheduled February 12 general elections, was shot by masked gunmen at an election campaign in Dhaka’s Bijoynagar area and later died while undergoing treatment in Singapore.
Following Hadi’s death, the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus observed nationwide mourning on Saturday and vowed strict action against those responsible, even as fresh violence erupted in Dhaka and other major cities.
Bangladesh Police have said they have no “specific information” on the whereabouts of the prime suspect in Hadi’s killing, Faisal Karim Masud. While his parents, wife and a female friend have been arrested, police said his current location remains unknown.
Addressing an emergency press conference at the Ministry of Home Affairs on Sunday, Additional Inspector General of Police Khandaker Rafiqul Islam said law enforcement and intelligence agencies were actively trying to trace Masud.
“We do not have specific information about Faisal’s last location. Our forces and intelligence agencies are working to obtain it,” he said, adding that there was no reliable information suggesting the suspect had fled the country.
PTI