The Border Security Force in Meghalaya on Sunday dismissed claims by Bangladeshi authorities that the killers of Inquilab Moncho leader Sharif Osman Hadi had fled into India through the Meghalaya border, calling the allegations unfounded and misleading. BSF officials said there was no evidence to support reports of cross-border movement by the suspects.
BSF Inspector General in Meghalaya, OP Opadhyay, said there was no indication that anyone had crossed into India from Bangladesh through the Haluaghat sector. He added that the force had neither detected nor received any information suggesting such an incident, firmly rejecting the claims made earlier by Bangladeshi officials.
Earlier in the day, a senior officer of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police had alleged that two prime suspects in the murder case had entered the Garo Hills region of Meghalaya with the assistance of local contacts. The officer claimed that informal information suggested the individuals who helped the suspects had been detained by Indian authorities.
However, the Meghalaya Police also refuted these claims, stating that there was no intelligence input to support the assertion. A senior state police official said no suspicious movement had been detected in the region and that there was no confirmation of the suspects’ presence in the Garo Hills. He added that coordination with central agencies was ongoing as a precaution.
The BSF reiterated that security along the international border remained tight, particularly given the volatile situation in Bangladesh. Officials said the border in Meghalaya’s western sector was under constant surveillance and any illegal movement would be immediately detected and dealt with.
Despite the denials from Indian authorities, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police maintained that Bangladesh was in contact with India to secure the arrest and return of the suspects. The officer said communication was taking place through both formal and informal channels to facilitate their extradition.
Sharif Osman Hadi was a prominent political figure in Bangladesh and a strong critic of both India and the Awami League. He rose to national prominence during the violent student-led protests last year, known as the July Uprising, which eventually led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government.
Following the uprising, Hadi launched a new political platform called Inqilab Mancha and had begun preparations to contest the parliamentary elections scheduled for February. He was attacked on December 12 in Dhaka, when assailants shot him in the head. He was later flown to Singapore for treatment but succumbed to his injuries six days later.
His killing triggered widespread unrest across Bangladesh. Angry mobs vandalised and set fire to the offices of leading newspapers such as Prothom Alo and The Daily Star, as well as cultural organisations including Chhayanat and Udichi Shilpi Goshthi. The violence also spread to central parts of the country, where a Hindu factory worker was lynched in Mymensingh, further escalating tensions nationwide.
