Bangladesh police have said that two key suspects in the murder of political activist Osman Hadi fled to India through the Meghalaya border shortly after the killing, with the help of local contacts.
Addressing a press briefing at the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Media Centre, Additional Commissioner SN Nazrul Islam said the suspects, Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh, crossed into India through the Haluaghat border in Mymensingh.
“According to our information, the suspects entered India via the Haluaghat border. After crossing, they were initially received by an individual named Purti. Later, a taxi driver named Sami transported them to Tura city in Meghalaya,” Nazrul Islam said, as quoted by The Daily Star.
He added that Bangladeshi authorities had received informal inputs suggesting that both Purti and Sami, who allegedly assisted the suspects, have since been detained by Indian authorities. However, official confirmation is still awaited.
“We are maintaining communication with Indian authorities through both formal and informal channels to ensure their arrest and extradition,” Nazrul Islam said.
The Bangladesh government, he added, is in continuous contact with India to secure the return of the fugitives, with coordination underway through diplomatic and law enforcement channels.
Background Of The Case
Osman Hadi was a prominent political activist and a vocal critic of India and the Awami League. He emerged as one of the leading figures of last year’s violent student-led protests, known as the July Uprising, which eventually led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government.
Following the uprising, Hadi launched a new political platform, Inqilab Mancha, and was preparing to contest the parliamentary elections scheduled for February.
On December 12, Hadi was shot in the head by masked gunmen in Dhaka. He was later airlifted to Singapore for treatment, where he died six days later.
Aftermath And Unrest
Hadi’s killing sparked widespread unrest across Bangladesh. In Dhaka, mobs vandalised and set fire to the offices of mass-circulation newspapers Prothom Alo and The Daily Star, as well as cultural organisations Chhayanat and Udichi Shilpi Goshthi.
The violence also spread to central Bangladesh, where a Hindu factory worker was lynched by a mob in Mymensingh, further heightening tensions in the aftermath of Hadi’s death.
Authorities say efforts are continuing to track down all those involved in the killing, as political and communal tensions remain high in the country.
