Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina has been accused of ordering an attempt to kill Bobby Hajjaj, chairman of the Nationalist Democratic Movement (NDM).
The alleged plot unfolded on Saturday around 9:30 am at Hajjaj’s residence in Gulshan.
According to a written statement from NDM Secretary General Mominul Amin, Chhatra League activist Md. Noor, 25, acting on the instructions of banned Chhatra League Dhaka Metropolitan vice president Mostafa Al Nafis, entered Hajjaj’s home with plans to attack him. Noor was caught due to suspicious behavior noticed by Hajjaj’s bodyguards.
During initial questioning, Noor reportedly admitted that he had been sent on the mission under direct orders from Sheikh Hasina. His stated purpose was to monitor Hajjaj’s movements and gain entry under the pretext of a preliminary meeting. NDM claimed that an examination of Noor’s mobile phone partially confirmed these allegations. He was later arrested by Gulshan police.
NDM also learned through intelligence agencies that a bomb-like device had been placed at the party’s Banani office.
The NDM central executive committee condemned the incident as a “heinous conspiracy.” The statement said: “Bobby Hajjaj is not only a brave fighter of the July mass uprising; he was a courageous voice of the anti-Hasina movement. This assassination attempt was designed to silence him permanently.”
The statement added that in 2013, Hajjaj was forcibly sent to London by the then Hasina government after being picked up by the RAB, and he had been shot by police during the July uprising. Hajjaj had also filed the first complaint against Hasina and the Awami League with the International Crimes Tribunal and played a role in holding Hasina’s niece, Tulip Siddiq, accountable over corruption allegations.
NDM Secretary General Mominul Amin warned that recent attacks on leaders like Nurul Haque Nur, president of Ganadhikar Parishad, and Khandakar Lutfur Rahman, president of Jagpa, were not isolated incidents. He called for action against Awami League affiliates ahead of national election.
“Attempting to kill Bobby Hajjaj is an attack on the July movement itself,” Amin said. “Our struggle will continue until Awami fascism is eliminated. NDM will show strong resistance on the streets.”