Bangladesh violence: Student leader Motaleb Shikdar out of danger after gunshot injury

The National Citizen Party (NCP)-affiliated Jatiya Sramik Shakti leader Motaleb Shikdar, who was earlier shot in the head in broad daylight on Monday in Bangladesh's Khulna, is now out of danger, officials said. According to bdnews24, citing Khulna Medical College Hospital Superintendent Mohammad Akhtaruzzaman, Motaleb, who is the Khulna divisional leader of the Jatiya Sramik Shakti, suffered a gunshot wound to the left side of his head and is now out of danger.

"Motaleb is out of danger now. He received primary treatment in the dressing room of the hospital's surgery ward," Akhtaruzzaman said, as quoted by bdnews24.

Sonadanga Police Station Inspector Animesh Mandal said the incident occurred around noon in Khulna's Sonadanga area.

Motaleb was shot inside a house located behind Gazi Medical College Hospital and the bullet only skimmed his scalp, causing bleeding, but he survived, the police added.

He was shot inside a house behind Gazi Medical College Hospital. The bullet grazed his scalp. He survived, although there was bleeding," Mandal said, as quoted by bdnews24.
After being shot, the residents immediately took him to Khulna Medical College Hospital, after which he was sent to City Diagnostic Centre for a CT scan.

Sonadanga Police Station Officer-in-Charge Rafiqul Islam said that no suspects had been arrested and that police were continuing their investigation, bdnews24 reported.

Saif Newaz, organiser of the NCP's Khulna Metropolitan unit, stated that Motaleb was shot from close range, adding that Motaleb is a central organiser of Jatiya Sramik Shakti and had been overseeing preparations for an upcoming divisional workers' rally in Khulna.
This is the second incident of a political leader being shot in Bangladesh this month.

Earlier, Inquilab Moncho convenor Sharif Osman Hadi, who was a prominent figure in last year's 'July Uprising', which resulted in the fall of the former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's regime, was shot in Dhaka's Bijoynagar area.

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Sharif Osman Hadi was shot at close range on December 12 while travelling in a rickshaw. On December 15, he was airlifted to Singapore by air ambulance for advanced treatment, but later succumbed to his injuries on December 18.

Following his death, protests broke out in Dhaka, as the supporters of the Inquilab Moncho called for justice for their slain leader, with the Chief Adviser of the interim Government of Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus, announcing a national day of mourning on Saturday, December 20.

Hadi was also being considered as a potential Dhaka-8 candidate for the February 2026 national election.