Bangladeshi authorities have ignited a diplomatic and security controversy by asserting that two prime suspects in a high-profile political assassination have sought refuge in the Indian state of Meghalaya. Indian security agencies, however, have issued swift and firm rebuttals, labeling the claims as baseless.
The Allegation from Dhaka
At a press conference on Sunday, S N Md Nazrul Islam, the Additional Police Commissioner (Crime and Operations) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, stated that the suspects in the murder of radical leader Sharif Osman Hadi had crossed into India. He identified the wanted men as Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh.
Islam claimed the duo entered the Indian state of Meghalaya via the Haluaghat border with assistance from local contacts. He further alleged that his department had received informal reports about two individuals, named "Purti and Sami," being detained in India for helping the fugitives, who then allegedly traveled by taxi to Tura, the headquarters of West Garo Hills district.
The Bangladeshi official insisted that his government was actively working to secure the suspects' return. "We are maintaining communication with Indian authorities through both formal and informal channels to ensure their arrest and extradition," Islam said.
Strong Denials from Indian Security Establishments
The claims were met with immediate and categorical rejections from Indian border and police forces. BSF Inspector General (Meghalaya frontier) Om Prakash Upadhyay stated in Shillong that there was no evidence to support the allegation.
"There is no evidence to suggest any individual crossed the international border from the Haluaghat sector into Meghalaya from Mymensingh in Bangladesh," Upadhyay told PTI. He emphasized that the BSF has neither detected nor received any report of such an incident, adding that the border is under constant surveillance and any illegal movement would be promptly detected.
Echoing this sentiment, Meghalaya Director General of Police (DGP) Idashisha Nongrang also contradicted the Dhaka police's statement. She specifically denied reports about two alleged collaborators being detained in West Garo Hills, calling the information emerging from Bangladesh regarding the killers' whereabouts "unfounded."
Background of the High-Profile Murder
The controversy stems from the killing of Sharif Osman Hadi, a 32-year-old leader of the Inqilab Moncho group. Hadi was shot while campaigning in Dhaka on December 12 and later succumbed to his head injuries in a Singapore hospital on December 18.
Hadi was a significant figure, having been among the leaders of the mass uprising in July-August 2024 that led to the toppling of Sheikh Hasina's Awami League government. He was also a candidate for the upcoming February 12 parliamentary elections.
His death plunged Bangladesh into fresh unrest. The Inqilab Moncho group has given a 30-day ultimatum to the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus to arrest the killers, with the countdown starting on December 19. Hadi's brother, Omar, has even accused elements within the interim government of orchestrating the assassination to derail the polls.
The unsubstantiated cross-border claims, therefore, arrive at a time of intense political pressure within Bangladesh, raising questions about the motivations behind the public allegations against a neighboring country's border security apparatus.
