Border Security Force Denies Claims of Suspects Fleeing to India in Activist's Murder Case

BSF Refutes Bangladesh Police Allegations

The Border Security Force (BSF) has dismissed allegations made by the Bangladesh Police regarding two suspects in the murder of activist Sharif Osman Hadi allegedly escaping to India via the Meghalaya border.

On Sunday, Additional Commissioner of Dhaka Police, SN Nazrul Islam, stated that the suspects, Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh, had crossed into Meghalaya through the Haluaghat border with assistance from local Indian residents.

According to Islam, the suspects were reportedly welcomed by an individual named Purti and subsequently transported by a taxi driver, Sami, to Tura in Meghalaya.

He further mentioned that the two Indian nationals who allegedly aided the suspects were in custody of Indian authorities, and that Bangladesh was coordinating with India on the matter.

However, Inspector General OP Upadhyay of the BSF in Meghalaya refuted these claims, labeling them as entirely false and lacking any supporting evidence.

Upadhyay clarified that the Meghalaya Police had not detained the suspects and that reports circulating in Bangladeshi media were inaccurate.

He emphasized that there had been no cross-border movement from the Meghalaya sector and noted that even the Bangladesh Border Guard had not reported any such occurrences.

“The BGB is a highly professional force,” Upadhyay remarked, adding that the assertion of individuals entering India from a location nearly 300 kilometers from Dhaka, despite extensive surveillance and checkpoints in Bangladesh, is highly unlikely.

Sharif Osman Hadi was shot on December 12 while exiting a mosque in Dhaka and succumbed to his injuries on December 18 in a Singapore hospital where he was receiving treatment.

Hadi was a significant figure in the 2024 student protests that resulted in the removal of the previous Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government. His death sparked unrest across various regions in Bangladesh, including incidents of violence against minority communities.