Osman Hadi shooting: Who is this suspect Faisal Karim Daud?
Prothom Alo investigations have found that Faisal Karim was involved in the politics of Chhatra League (now banned), the student wing of the Awami League, whose activities are currently prohibited. He became a member of the Chhatra League’s full central committee announced on 11 May 2019. His full name is Faisal Karim Daud Khan.
Osman Hadi, convener of the Inqilab Moncho and a prospective candidate for the Dhaka–8 parliamentary constituency, was shot yesterday, Friday, at around noon on Box Culvert Road in the capital’s Purana Paltan area, the day after the election schedule was announced. The assailant, who was on a motorcycle, shot him and fled on the same motorcycle. Hadi is currently undergoing treatment at Evercare Hospital in the capital. Inqilab Moncho has said that his condition is still critical.
There are several recent photos of Faisal Karim with Osman Hadi at various places including the Inqilab Cultural Center, which was founded by Hadi. The resemblance between Faisal Karim in those photos and the person who carried out the shooting has led to him being suspected in the incident. Reports about this have also been published on social media platforms like Facebook and in various media outlets.
This afternoon, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) sent a photo of the same individual to the media, stating that the person involved in the shooting of Osman Hadi has been identified through analysis of CCTV footage. The DMP has requested everyone to provide any information regarding him. Additionally, Lieutenant General (Retd.) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, the Home Affairs Adviser, has announced a reward of 5 million taka for anyone who helps capture the person who shot Osman Hadi.
What has been found out about Faisal Karim
A LinkedIn profile exists under the name Faisal Karim. A former leader of the Dhaka City North Chhatra League has confirmed that this account indeed belongs to him. On LinkedIn, Faisal lists himself as the owner of three companies: Apple Soft IT, YCU Technology, and Enlist Work.
According to the LinkedIn profile, Faisal Karim completed a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from a private university in Dhaka in 2013. It also mentions that he later earned an MBA from another private university.
A source from the Chhatra League has stated that during the mass uprising in July 2024, Faisal Karim was on the ground alongside leaders and activists of the Awami League and its allied organisations to suppress the protesters. The source confirmed to Prothom Alo that the Faisal Karim suspected in the shooting of Osman Hadi and Faisal Karim Daud Khan, a former member of the central Chhatra League (under the committee led by Rezwanul Haque Chowdhury and Golam Rabbani), are one and the same person.
After Faisal Karim’s name surfaced in connection with the shooting of Osman Hadi, photos of him with former two-time President of Bangladesh Md. Abdul Hamid during the Awami League era, as well as with some leaders of the Dhaka City Awami League and Chhatra League, were published on Facebook. Additionally, recent photos showing Faisal participating in Osman Hadi’s public outreach in Dhaka–8 and at gatherings at the Inqilab Cultural Center in Bangla Motor, established by Hadi, have also gone viral. Many believe that Faisal Karim had been following Osman Hadi for quite some time.
In 2016, with support from the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) and under the patronage of the government’s Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, YCU Technology Limited, owned by Faisal Karim, created a computer game called Battle of ’71, based on Bangladesh’s Liberation War and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. In November of that year, the inauguration ceremony of the game was attended by the then president of BASIS, who later became the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Mostafa Jabbar.
Questions have arisen about how a person arrested with two firearms in such a robbery case could obtain bail in such a short period (3 months and 8 days). This has sparked discussion and criticism on social media and in various other forums
In the 2018 Eleventh National Parliamentary Elections, the central Chhatra League formed a “Constituency-Based Election Management and Coordination Committee.” In Dhaka–12, the Awami League candidate was former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan. Faisal Karim was a member of the coordination committee for that constituency.
Arrested with weapons, later released on bail
After the July mass uprising, on 28 October last year, a robbery took place at gunpoint at an office on the fourth floor of the British Columbia School in the Baitul Aman Housing Society area of Adabar, Dhaka, in which 1.7 million taka was stolen. A case was filed at the Adabar police station in connection with the incident. Faisal Karim was the main accused in the case.
A few days after the case was filed, on 7 November, Faisal Karim was arrested by the RAB from the Adabar area. At the time, two foreign pistols, two magazines, five bullets, three mobile phones, and 5,000 taka were recovered from him.
On 16 February, Faisal Karim was granted bail by the High Court in this case. When he applied again on 12 August to extend the bail period, the High Court approved a fresh one-year bail for him. While out on bail, he is now accused of shooting Osman Hadi. Questions have arisen about how a person arrested with two firearms in such a robbery case could obtain bail in such a short period (3 months and 8 days). This has sparked discussion and criticism on social media and in various other forums.