Key Points
- Muhammad Md Motaleb Sikder is a senior leader of Bangladesh’s National Citizen Party (NCP).
- The attack follows the killing of anti-India student leader Sharif Osman Hadi.
- Bangladesh strongly rejected an Indian press note regarding a protest outside its High Commission in New Delhi
- Police suspect Hadi’s killers crossed the border into India days after the shooting.
- Dhaka urges New Delhi to arrest and hand over Hadi’s suspected killers.
DHAKA, Bangladesh: Another anti-India student leader in Bangladesh was shot in the head in the southern city of Khulna on Monday, marking the second such attack this month amid heightened political tensions following the killing of prominent youth activist Sharif Osman Hadi.
According to local media reports, Muhammad Md Motaleb Sikder, 42, a senior leader of the student-led National Citizen Party (NCP), was targeted by unidentified gunmen in the Sonadanga area of Khulna.
He was immediately rushed to Khulna Medical College Hospital after sustaining a gunshot wound to the head.
NCP joint principal coordinator Mahmuda Mitu confirmed the attack in a Facebook post, identifying Sikder as the party’s Khulna divisional convener and a central organiser of its labour wing, Jatiya Sramik Shakti.
She said he was taken to the hospital in critical condition immediately after the shooting.
The National Citizen Party (NCP) was formed earlier this year following the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Originating from the Students Against Discrimination movement and the Jatiya Nagorik Committee, it has been described as Bangladesh’s first significant student-led political party.
Hospital sources, quoted by the local daily Kaler Kantho, said the bullet struck the left side of Sikder’s head, causing heavy bleeding.
Doctors initiated emergency treatment upon his arrival. Subsequent medical assessments indicated that the bullet had grazed his skull rather than penetrating it, and his condition has since stabilised. Physicians confirmed that he is now out of danger.
Police officials said the shooting occurred around midday while Sikder was at a house near Gazi Medical College Hospital.
Animesh Mondol, an investigating officer at Sonadanga police station, explained that the bullet entered near Sikder’s ear and exited after piercing the skin, narrowly missing vital areas.
He added that further investigation into the attack was underway.
BOOM!
V€nom-spewing anti-India t€rrorist Muhammad Motaleb Sikdar, the NCP hardliner who loved stirring Kashmir separatism & po!soning minds against Bharat, just got bl@sted in the head by unknown Gunmen in Khulna!
One less snake slithering in our neighborhood!
Karma hits… pic.twitter.com/nMu7iMwXCt
— Abhishek Singh (@IAbhi_s) December 22, 2025
No immediate arrests
Authorities reported that no immediate arrests had been made, and the identities and motives of the attackers remain unknown. A search operation has been launched in the area to locate those responsible.
Party leaders stated that Sikder had been actively involved in preparations for a divisional labour rally scheduled to take place in Khulna in the coming days.
An NCP functionary from the Khulna metropolitan unit said the attack occurred while organisational work for the rally was ongoing.
The shooting comes just days after the killing of anti-India student leader Sharif Osman Hadi, 32. Hadi’s death triggered violent protests across several parts of Bangladesh and anger against India.
Killing of anti-India leader
Last week, Bangladesh witnessed nationwide protests after the killing of prominent anti-India youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi, a leading face of the 2024 uprising that toppled former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
Hadi, 32, died late Thursday at a hospital in Singapore, a week after he was shot by masked gunmen outside a mosque in Dhaka.
His death has ignited widespread anger, particularly among young protesters who describe him as a martyr of the anti-India, pro-democracy movement.
Protesters accused neighbouring India of sheltering both the killers of Hadi and the ousted former premier Hasina.
Protesters are also calling on New Delhi to hand over Sheikh Hasina, who has been living in India since fleeing Bangladesh in 2024.
Bangladesh police said they believe the attackers who killed Hadi fled across the border into India after the shooting, a claim that has further inflamed public sentiment. Indian authorities have not commented on the allegation.
Bangladeshi police said Faisal Karim Masud, identified as the gunman in the shooting of Hadi, fled to neighbouring India shortly after the attack. Investigators believe his alleged accomplice, motorcycle driver Alamgir Sheikh, also crossed into India.
According to police sources cited by the Dhaka Tribune, the two men are suspected to have crossed the border illegally through the Haluaghat area of Mymensingh on Friday, just days after the December 12 shooting.
In response, Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned India’s High Commissioner to Dhaka, Pranay Verma, urging New Delhi to arrest and hand over the suspects if they are found on Indian soil.
Hadi’s killing has ignited a fierce public backlash, sharpening already fraught debates over India’s influence in Bangladesh.
The two South Asian neighbours have been exchanging words since last year’s uprising that ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule. Hasina has been in India since August last year.
According to the UN, about 1,400 people were killed in the uprising, and thousands of others were injured during demonstrations that toppled Hasina’s 15-year-long rule.
High Commission protest
On Sunday, Bangladesh strongly rejected an Indian press note over a protest outside its High Commission in New Delhi, raising serious concerns about how demonstrators were able to access a highly secured diplomatic zone and questioning the adequacy of security provided by the host country.
“Regarding the Indian press note, we completely reject it, entirely reject it,” foreign affairs adviser Touhid Hossain told reporters at the foreign ministry, reports The Bangladesh Today.
“The issue has been presented as if it were very simple, whereas in reality it is not. Our mission is located deep inside the diplomatic area, not at the periphery,” the newspaper quoted Hussain as saying.
