Situation tense in Bangladesh after unrest over uprising leader’s death
Dhaka/ New Delhi (PTI): Tension gripped Bangladesh on Friday after the death of prominent July Uprising leader Sharif Osman Hadi triggered protests and violence in various parts of the country.
While no incidents of violence were reported in the morning, Thursday night saw attacks and vandalism in various parts of the country after Chief Adviser Yunus confirmed Inquilab Mancha leader Hadi's death.
The initial announcement of Hadi's death had earlier come from the Inquilab Mancha, and his body will be brought home later in the day.
Hadi, a candidate in the scheduled February 12 general elections, died while undergoing treatment at a Singapore hospital after fighting for his life for six days.
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He was shot in the head last week by masked gunmen as he initiated his election campaign at central Dhaka’s Bijoynagar area.
Protesters on Thursday took to the streets and attacked offices of newspapers and vandalised 32 Dhanmandi, the home of Bangladesh’s founding father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Protesters also hurled bricks and stones at the residence the Assistant Indian High Commissioner in Chattogram, at 1:30 am, but failed to cause any damage.
Police responded with tear gas and baton charges, dispersing the crowd and detaining 12 protesters. Senior officials assured the assistant high commissioner of security.
Last night, the National Citizen Party (NCP), a large offshoot of Students against Discrimination (SAD) that led last year’s violent protest -- dubbed the July Uprising -- joined a mourning procession on the Dhaka University campus.
Supporters of the group chanted anti-India slogans alleging Hadi’s assailants fled to India after committing the murder. They called upon the interim government to close the Indian high commission until they were returned.
“The interim government, until India returns assassins of Hadi Bhai, the Indian High Commission to Bangladesh will remain closed. Now or Never. We are in a war!” said Sarjis Alm, a key leader of NCP.
In Dhaka, protesters attacked the office of a leading cultural group Chhaya Nat and brought out the furniture, setting it on fire.
Sporadic violence was also reported from other parts of the country.
A group of people, believed to be part of the protesters, attacked the offices of Bangla newspaper Prothom Alo’s office and the nearby Daily Star at the capital's Karwan Bazar, near the Shahbagh intersection.
Reports said they vandalised several floors while journalists and staff of the newspaper were trapped inside, and the mob ignited a fire in front of the building.
In his address, Yunus vowed to bring those involved in Hadi's brutal murder to justice quickly, saying, “No leniency will be shown" to the killers.
“I sincerely call upon all citizens – keep your patience and restraint,” he said.
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
