Brother of slain student activist Osman Hadi appointed second secretary at Bangladesh mission in UK

Notification of Omar Bin Hadi's appointment was issued Thursday, according to media reports. His brother’s killing had triggered protests & a rising anti-India tirade in Bangladesh.

Omar Bin Hadi was appointed on a contractual basis for three years, according to media reports | Credit: Dhaka Tribune

New Delhi: Bangladesh’s interim administration has appointed Osman Hadi’s elder brother as second secretary at Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Birmingham, the UK.

Hadi, who was part of the 2024 July uprising that led to the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, was shot 12 December, a day after elections were announced in Bangladesh, and died 18 December at a Singapore hospital. The student activist was the founder of Inquilab Moncho and was planning to contest the elections independently.

Now, Hadi’s elder brother Omar Bin Hadi is set to assume his role at the diplomatic mission in the UK. According to a Dhaka Tribune report, the notification was issued Thursday and the gazette was signed by Abul Hayat Md Rafique, joint secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration, by order of the President.

His appointment will be effective for three years from the date of joining, said a notification issued by the Contracts and Foreign Appointment Wing of the Ministry of Public Administration.

The appointment was also given on the condition that he must sever all professional ties with any other occupation, business, or government, semi-government, or private organisation. Other terms of the appointment will be determined by the contract, said the notification.

Hadi’s killing triggered protests and a rising anti-India tirade in Bangladesh, after unverified reports alleged his attackers had fled to India. Indian diplomatic missions were attacked and visa centres were shut down. It also led to an escalation of attacks on minorities in Bangladesh.

In Rajshahi, a group of 10 to 15 members of a platform calling itself the July 36 Platform with national flags tied around their heads chanted anti-India slogans. The march was titled ‘March to Assistant Indian High Commission, Rajshahi’ and advanced toward the Assistant Indian High Commission in the Padma Residential Area before police stopped protesters with barricades roughly 100 yards from the office, The Business Standard reported.

(Edited by Tony Rai)