- India arrested two Bangladesh nationals linked to Sharif Osman Hadi's murder in West Bengal
- Hadi was killed in Dhaka during election campaign; his death sparked anti-India protests
- India and Bangladesh aim to improve ties and prevent use of territory for hostile acts
In December 2025, India and Bangladesh had sharp exchanges over what followed the killing of Sharif Osman Hadi. The incident was turned into an instrument to propagate anti-India sentiments within Bangladesh while India remained firm on its stance.
The Ministry of External Affairs clearly stated, "India has never allowed its territory to be used for activities inimical to the interests of the friendly people of Bangladesh." The arrests on Sunday show that India is willing to cooperate with Bangladesh and ensure that those creating unrest in Bangladesh cannot get away by escaping to India.
Sharif Osman Hadi, 32, was shot in the head on December 12 during an election campaign in Dhaka. He was airlifted to Singapore, where he died on December 18 during treatment. Immediately after his death conspiracy theories about India sheltering the killers were floated while India repeatedly asked the then interim government in Bangladesh to ensure law and order. In the meantime, India ensured that if the killers had indeed come into India, they would face the law and law enforcement agencies were alerted.
On Sunday, the Special Task Force of the West Bengal Police said it had detained two Bangladeshi Nationals in Bongaon, a border in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.
In a statement, the police said, "There was secret credible information that two Bangladeshi nationals, after committing serious crimes including extortion and murder in Bangladesh, had fled their country and illegally entered India, and were trying to take shelter in the border area of Bongaon with the intention of crossing back into Bangladesh when an opportunity arises."
"Acting on this information, a raid was conducted, and two Bangladeshi nationals were intercepted, namely (1) Rahul alias Faisal Karim Masud (37 years), resident of Patuakhali, Bangladesh, and (2) Alamgir Hossain (34 years), resident of Dhaka, Bangladesh from the area of Bongaon in the intervening night of 7/8-03-2026."
Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Hossain have been identified as two main accused in the Shaheed Sharif Osman bin Hadi murder case.
"During preliminary interrogation, it was revealed that Rahul alias Faisal Karim Masud, along with Alamgir Hossain, had committed the murder of Osman Hadi, a political activist of Bangladesh and then fled away. They illegally entered Indian territory through Meghalaya border and moved through different places in India and finally, came to Bongaon, West Bengal, with the intention of crossing back into Bangladesh," the West Bengal Police said.
The crime the duo have been accused of does not fall under the jurisdiction of Indian law enforcement agencies, so they will face prosecution under the Foreigners' Act and eventually be deported.
"A specific case has been registered in this regard. They have been sent to police custody, on their production before the concerned court today. Further investigation is on," the West Bengal Police said.
The Bangladesh High Commission in Kolkata said, "The Kolkata Police informed this Deputy High Commission in a message that two Bangladeshi citizens named Faisal Karim Masud (37) and Alamgir Hossain (34) have been arrested. Indian media has identified these two individuals as suspected suspects in the Shahid Sharif Osman Bin Hadi murder case. Immediately after this news was published, this Deputy High Commission established the necessary contact with the Indian authorities in Kolkata and requested the Government of India to provide consular access."
The ramifications of the arrest are manifold. Hadi, spokesperson of Inquilab Moncho, was one of the most recognisable faces during the mass street protests in July and August 2024, which eventually led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government and the exile of her Awami League.
Hadi, who took an anti-India position, was also a parliamentary candidate for the upcoming February 12 election. His death sparked a wave of anti-India protests, statements and law and order incidents along with targeting of Hindu minorities in the country. Several allegations that India was harboring his killers were also made, without any basis in facts.
India and Bangladesh share a porous border, which in many places is unfenced and therefore that gives criminals an opportunity to give law enforcement the slip. But India has ensured that the criminals are arrested and this Bangladesh watchers say, shows India is not a state that gives safe haven to criminals.
With the arrest of Hadi's killers in India, the rhetoric rampantly used by anti-India forces, will also fall flat as India has not allowed its territory to be used by any criminal to escape. While the two accused are believed to have entered India via the border with Bangladesh along Meghalaya, the arrests were made at another border far away in North 24 Parganas in West Bengal.
With the new government led by Tarique Rahman coming in, the focus has been on improving the relationship rather than sharpening the rhetoric. The arrest of Hadi's killer ensures that India is not seen as a neighbour that allows its territory to be used for activities inimical to the interests of the people of Bangladesh.
What is also important to note is that the arrests follow the visit of Bangladesh's military intelligence chief Major General Mohammad Kaiser Rashid Chowdhury to New Delhi. Chowdhury met with Parag Jain, chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), and others including Lieutenant General RS Raman, his Indian counterpart, Director General of Military Intelligence (DGMI) for the Indian Army.
Major General Chowdhury was made DGFI on 23 February, as part of newly elected Prime Minister Rahman's changes at the top of the Bangladeshi armed forces.
Sources say, apart from re-opening channels of communication that went cold under the interim government of Bangladesh for over 18 months, an agreement that neither country is used by individuals with interests "that are inimical to the other", is another step of normalization of ties between India and Bangladesh, under the new regime.
At an Iftar gathering held at the Indian High Commission in Dhaka last week, High Commissioner Pranay Verma said, "As two aspiring and forward moving societies, India and Bangladesh stand at the cusp of a new future where they can offer to each other and to the region, shared prosperity by working together."
High Commissioner Varma expressed India's support for a democratic, stable, peaceful, progressive, and inclusive Bangladesh, and described the presence of the large number of guests from a wide array of Bangladeshi society at the Iftar as a reaffirmation of shared commitment to strengthen the bonds of friendship and cooperation between the two countries.
