Two suspects in Osman Hadi killing escape to India via Meghalaya, says Dhaka Police

Two key suspects accused of murdering Bangladeshi political activist Osman Hadi fled to India through the Meghalaya border soon after the killing, Dhaka Metropolitan Police said recently as authorities intensified efforts to secure their arrest and extradition.

Addressing a press briefing at the DMP Media Centre, Additional Commissioner SN Nazrul Islam identified the fugitives as Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh, stating that the duo crossed into India via the Haluaghat border in Mymensingh with assistance from local collaborators.

“Based on our information, the suspects entered India through the Haluaghat border. After crossing, they were initially received by an individual named Purti. A taxi driver, Sami, later transported them to Tura city in Meghalaya,” Nazrul Islam said, as quoted by The Daily Star.

Bangladeshi authorities have received informal inputs suggesting that Purti and Sami have since been detained by Indian authorities, though official confirmation is still awaited. Police said communication with Indian agencies is ongoing through both formal and informal channels to ensure the fugitives’ arrest and extradition.

Osman Hadi, a prominent political figure and a vocal critic of India and the Awami League, rose to national prominence during last year’s student-led July Uprising, which culminated in the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government. Following the unrest, Hadi launched a new political platform, Inqilab Mancha, and was preparing to contest the parliamentary elections scheduled for February.

Hadi was shot in the head by masked gunmen in Dhaka on December 12 and later airlifted to Singapore for treatment. He succumbed to his injuries six days later.

His death triggered widespread violence across Bangladesh, with mobs torching the offices of leading newspapers Prothom Alo and The Daily Star, as well as cultural institutions including Chhayanat and Udichi Shilpi Goshthi in Dhaka. The unrest spilled into central Bangladesh, where a Hindu factory worker was lynched in Mymensingh, sharply escalating communal and political tensions in the aftermath of the killing.

Investigators say efforts are now focused on bringing the suspects back to Bangladesh as the case continues to reverberate through the country’s volatile political landscape.