Dhaka/New Delhi, Dec. 20 -- Fresh violence erupted through parts of Bangladesh on Friday after widespread arson across the nation's capital on Thursday night with protests near the Indian high commission in Dhaka and the assistant high commissions in Chittagong, Khulna and Rajshahi. Demonstrators took to the streets over a deadly attack on radical student leader Sharif Osman Hadi last week. The protests intensified after Hadi died in a Singapore hospital on Thursday. People familiar with the matter described the situation outside the Indian mission and posts in Bangladesh as tense and said on condition of anonymity that all Indian diplomats and officials were safe. Bangladesh police and security forces had failed to take timely action against protesters over the last few days, including in Chittagong on Thursday, and only stepped in after they got close to the missions, they said. Sharif Osman Hadi, leader of the Inqilab Mancha platform, died from gunshot wounds while undergoing treatment in Singapore. He was shot on December 12 in Dhaka, a day after the Election Commission announced a timeline for elections in February. Hadi was a prospective candidate in the upcoming general election, and died six days after being shot in the head by masked gunmen during a campaign event in Dhaka. In a televised address late Thursday, interim leader Muhammad Yunus called for calm and described Hadi as a "fearless frontline warrior." Yunus declared Saturday, the day set for Hadi's burial, a day of national mourning and vowed that those responsible for the "brutal killing" would be brought to justice. The violence presents the severest test yet for the interim administration led by Yunus, the Nobel laureate who was appointed to lead the country after a mass uprising overthrew the government of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last year. Conditions in Bangladesh remained volatile Friday morning, with heavy security deployments across key areas of Dhaka and the port city of Chattogram as the interim government seeks to contain the fallout. Police in Chattogram used tear gas and batons to secure the Indian Assistant High Commission in the city. An initial sit-in at the commission by Inqilab Mancha members ended peacefully, but a second group later arrived and began hurling bricks and stones at the Indian mission. Hasib Aziz, commissioner of Chattogram Metropolitan Police, told reporters there was no material damage and Indian officials weren't affected. Protesters in Dhaka set fire to the headquarters of the country's two leading newspapers, Prothom Alo and The Daily Star, trapping journalists inside for hours, according to media reports. The publications have temporarily suspended operations after the incident. The site of the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum was also targeted in the violence. The museum contains the former residence of independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who is also Hasina's father. The location has been targeted repeatedly by protesters since last year's uprising. Student groups involved in the protests have sought to link the Awami League party of former premier Sheikh Hasina, currently in self-exile in India, to Hadi's killing though no evidence has emerged in this regard. While condemning all acts of violence, intimidation and arson, the Yunus administration said in a statement that a democratic transition "must not.be derailed by those few who thrive on chaos and reject peace". Four people, including two police personnel, were injured in a clash between protesters and police outside the Indian assistant high commission in Chittagong late on Thursday night. The protesters lobbed bricks and vandalised the premises, Bangladesh's UNB news agency reported. Police also detained 12 people under the Anti-Terrorism Act, officials said. On Thursday, tensions flared when police blocked a march towards the Indian assistant high commission in Rajshahi, leading to brief scuffles between protesters and security forces. The people cited above said radical and anti-India forces were more active in Rajshahi, increasing the potential for protests. "The authorities have not stepped in to quell unsubstantiated reports of an Indian link to Hadi's killing and have created this situation," one of the people said. Referring to the general election and constitutional referendum scheduled for February 12, the interim government described the exercises as a "solemn national commitment" and called for honouring Hadi through restraint and rejecting hatred. The interim government also condemned the lynching of a Hindu man in Mymensingh. "There is no space for such violence in new Bangladesh. The perpetrators of this heinous crime will not be spared," the statement said. Dipu Chandra Das, a 30-year-old garment factory worker, was beaten to death in Bhaluka area of Mymensingh on Thursday night by a mob that accused him of blasphemy. His body was tied to a tree and set on fire, BBC Bangla reported....