Bangladesh: BNP leader critically injured in Dhaka shooting amid rising political violence ahead of Feb polls

Dhaka, Jan 23 (IANS) As political violence intensifies ahead of the February elections in Bangladesh, a leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was critically injured when unknown assailants opened fire in the Keraniganj area of the capital Dhaka, local media reported on Friday.

The victim, identified as 45-year-old Mohammad Hasan Molla, general secretary of the BNP in Hazratpur Union of Keraniganj, was shot on Thursday night.

He was reportedly taken in critical condition to the emergency department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital around 11 pm on Thursday, where he is currently receiving treatment.

Confirming the attack, Inspector Mohammad Faruk, in charge of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital police outpost, said that a BNP leader named Hasan Molla was brought to the hospital from the Keraniganj area with a gunshot injury.

“He is receiving treatment in the emergency department and sustained a bullet injury to the right side of his abdomen. The matter has been reported to the concerned police station,” Bangladeshi daily Dhaka Tribune quoted Faruk as saying.

According to the victim’s brother, Rakib Molla, two unidentified men on a motorcycle opened fire on Hasan in the Keraniganj area while he was returning home. Rakib added that Hasan was shot on the right side of his abdomen as the assailants fled the scene.

“After receiving the information, we rushed to the spot, rescued my brother, and took him to the emergency department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where he is now under treatment,” Dhaka Tribune quoted Rakib as saying.

This latest incident comes against the backdrop of a degrading law and order situation and escalating political violence across Bangladesh ahead of the general elections.

Last week, 65-year-old Anwar Ullah, a leader of the radical Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, was killed at his residence in Dhaka.

Earlier on January 8, a member of the BNP’s youth wing, Jubo Dal, was killed in a late-night attack in Panchbibi upazila of Joypurhat district, with his younger brother also injured, local media reported, citing police officials.

The deceased, identified as 31-year-old Yanul Hossain, was reportedly an active member of Jubo Dal, while his 22-year-old younger brother, Abdul Momin, sustained injuries during the attack.

In a separate incident, on January 7, another leader of the BNP's voluntary wing, Jatiyatabadi Swechasebak Dal, Azizur Rahman Mosabbir, was shot dead by gunmen in Dhaka.

Recently, the BNP raised serious concerns over the law and order situation in the country ahead of the February elections, criticising the performance of law enforcement agencies under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government.

Bangladesh has witnessed escalating protests and a deteriorating law and order situation since the Yunus-led interim government assumed power in August 2024.