Thousands of people attended the state-sponsored funeral prayer for mob leader turned Dhaka-8 candidate Sharif Osman Goni, aka Osman Hadi, in the South Plaza of the National Parliament and the adjacent Manik Mia Avenue on Saturday afternoon.
The presence of the leaders and activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and its student group Islami Chhatra Shibir was significant, as they had been preparing for the final showdown for the last few days—marked by a jihadist rally at Shahbagh and mob attacks on Indian diplomatic installations, top media offices, and cultural institutions.
The Jamaat-controlled interim government earlier declared state mourning for Saturday. The administration arranged the funeral, which was highlighted by the media extensively, with Muhammad Yunus chairing the showdown.
The prayer was administered by Dr. Maulana Abu Bakar Siddiqi, Hadi’s brother, at the South Plaza. In the front row, Yunus was flanked by Jamaat Ameer Dr. Shafiqur Rahman and BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed on both sides. Other attendees included Yunus’ NCP Convener Nahid Islam and Army Chief General Waker-uz-Zaman.
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People started gathering on Manik Mia Avenue in the morning, making it a huge crowd by 12 noon. Entry to the parliament’s complex stairs was restricted; only dignitaries were seen entering the premises through archways.
But as soon as the prayer ended, thousands of Muslim devotees crossed the bamboo-made barricades, rammed the flower garden, and ran towards the parliament building. The law enforcers, including the army, BGB and armed police, failed to stop them despite repeated requests made via megaphones.
Around 3pm, the ambulance carrying Osman Hadi’s body reached the Dhaka University graveyard. The radical Islamist mobster was later buried beside the grave of the national poet, Kazi Nazrul Islam, despite protests.
The rally at Shahbagh, which began on Thursday night after the death news broke, resumed around 4pm on Saturday, with slogans like “Inqilab Zindabad” and “Naraye Taqbir” in the air.
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