India Rejects Bangladesh’s Claim That Suspects in Youth Leader’s Killing Escaped to Meghalaya
New Delhi: Indian authorities have firmly rejected assertions by Bangladesh police that two suspects in the murder of prominent Islamist youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi fled across the border into Meghalaya.
On December 28, 2025, sources from Indian diplomatic circles and senior Meghalaya Police officials described the claims as inaccurate, according to reports in The Hindu.
The denial followed statements from Additional Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police S.N. Nazrul Islam, who alleged that suspects Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh entered India via the Haluaghat border with assistance from locals. He claimed the pair were first met by an individual named Purti and then transported by taxi driver Sami to Tura in Meghalaya, adding that both Purti and Sami were detained by Indian authorities.
Islam further noted that Bangladesh was engaging Indian counterparts through formal and informal channels to secure the suspects’ arrest and extradition.
However, Indian officials maintained there was no evidence to support these allegations.
Sharif Osman Hadi, a key figure in the July-August 2024 protests that contributed to the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was shot in the head on December 12 in Dhaka. He succumbed to his injuries on December 18 while receiving treatment in Singapore.
His death sparked widespread unrest in Bangladesh, exacerbating law and order challenges and intensifying communal tensions, including increased incidents of violence targeting minority communities.