DHAKA: Bangladesh police on Sunday said the alleged killers of prominent student leader Sharif Osman Hadi had fled to India, a development likely to further strain already tense relations between the two neighbouring countries.
Hadi, a vocal critic of India who played a key role in last year’s mass uprising, was shot by masked assailants in Dhaka earlier this month. He later succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Singapore.
His killing triggered violent protests across Bangladesh, with angry mobs torching several buildings, including two leading newspapers perceived as pro-India, as well as a prominent cultural institution. Demonstrations have continued almost daily, increasing pressure on the interim government to arrest those responsible.
“The killing was premeditated, and those behind it have been identified,” said SN Nazrul Islam, a senior officer of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, while addressing a news conference.
According to police, the prime suspects — Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh — crossed into India via the Haluaghat border shortly after the attack on December 12. Islam said the suspects were received by two Indian nationals at the border, escorted into India’s northeastern state of Meghalaya, and then handed over to other accomplices.
Bangladeshi investigators are in contact with Indian authorities, Islam said, adding that Meghalaya police had confirmed the arrest of two Indian nationals allegedly linked to the case. However, two senior Meghalaya police officials declined to comment when contacted by AFP.
India’s foreign ministry has earlier rejected what it described as “false narratives” regarding New Delhi’s involvement in Hadi’s killing.
Relations between Bangladesh and India have worsened since former prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country following the pro-democracy uprising and sought refuge in India. New Delhi has said it is still reviewing Dhaka’s request to extradite Hasina, who has been sentenced to death in absentia for her role in a deadly crackdown on protesters.
Tensions have further escalated following the lynching of a Hindu garment worker by a mob on December 18. Amid the deteriorating security situation, Khuda Baksh Chowdhury, special assistant to interim leader Muhammad Yunus overseeing the home department, resigned earlier this week.
