The main suspect in the killing of Inqilab Moncho spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi has been arrested in India along with an associate and placed on 14 days’ remand for questioning by police in West Bengal.
According to Indian media reports, Faisal Karim Masud and another Bangladeshi national, Alamgir Hossain, were detained on Sunday by members of the Special Task Force (STF) of West Bengal Police near the Bongaon border area.
The arrests were confirmed in a report by the Indian news agency ANI, which cited West Bengal Police officials.
Police said the two men are being interrogated on charges of illegal entry and residence in India.
Sibgat Ullah, chief of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Bangladesh Police, said Dhaka will seek to bring the suspects back to Bangladesh to face trial under the prisoner exchange agreement through diplomatic channels.
Sharif Osman Bin Hadi was shot on 12 December last year while travelling by rickshaw in the capital’s Paltan area.
Police said two men on a motorcycle opened fire on him at around 2:20pm before fleeing the scene.
He later died while undergoing treatment.
Investigators subsequently identified Faisal Karim Masud as the prime suspect, saying he had fled to India after the killing.
Security sources said Bangladesh’s intelligence agencies had recently shared information with Indian authorities regarding the suspects’ whereabouts, leading to their arrest near the border.
Several sources said the newly appointed director general of Bangladesh’s Directorate General of Forces Intelligence recently visited India, where he urged Indian authorities to detain suspects linked to the Hadi murder case and other militants and return them to Bangladesh.
Following that request, Indian authorities were able to arrest the two suspects on Sunday based on specific intelligence information, the sources said.
Indian officials have also assured Bangladesh that they will take action against individuals operating from India who are accused of conducting anti-Bangladesh propaganda, according to the same sources.
Meanwhile, S N Nazrul Islam, Additional Commissioner for Crime and Operations of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), said he had no information about any arrest in India related to the Hadi murder case.
Speaking to Times of Bangladesh at around 7pm on Sunday, he said: “I am not aware of whether any suspect in the Hadi murder case has been arrested in India.”
What West Bengal police say
West Bengal Police’s Special Task Force (STF) said in a press statement that two Bangladeshi nationals who fled to India after committing serious crimes, including extortion and murder, have been arrested.
According to the STF, the suspects had entered India illegally from Bangladesh and were hiding in the Bongaon border area of West Bengal.
The statement, released on Sunday, said intelligence indicated that the two men were waiting for an opportunity to re-enter Bangladesh.
Acting on confidential information, STF officers conducted an operation and arrested the suspects from the Bongaon area during the night between 7 and 8 March, the statement said.
The arrested individuals were identified as Faisal Karim Masud, 37, from Patuakhali, and Alamgir Hossain, 34, from Dhaka.
According to the police statement, preliminary questioning revealed that Faisal and Alamgir were directly involved in the killing of Sharif Osman Hadi.
After the killing, they allegedly crossed into India illegally through the Meghalaya border and later stayed at various locations in the country before recently gathering in Bongaon with the intention of returning to Bangladesh.
Police said a case has been filed against the suspects under relevant legal provisions.
They were produced before a local court on Sunday, which ordered that the two be placed in police custody for further interrogation.
Suspects fled abroad after the killing
Hadi was shot on 12 December and was first taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital before being transferred to Evercare Hospital as his condition deteriorated.
On 15 December, he was flown to Singapore for further treatment.
He died at Singapore General Hospital at 9:45pm on 18 December, according to hospital records.
Following his death, supporters of Inqilab Moncho staged protests across the country.
Eighteen days after the killing, DMP Additional Commissioner S N Nazrul Islam told a press conference that investigators believed the suspects had crossed the border illegally into India’s Meghalaya state.
He said the killing had been carried out on the instructions and planning of former Mirpur ward councillor and Dhaka Metropolitan North Jubo League organising secretary Taizul Islam Chowdhury Bappi.
Police identified Faisal, a former leader of Chhatra League, as the prime suspect, while Alamgir Hossain was described as an activist of Adabor Thana Jubo League.
In a video message released in late December, Faisal Karim Masud claimed that he was staying in Dubai at the time.
He also denied being on the motorcycle used in the killing of Sharif Osman Hadi, alleging that Hadi had taken an advance payment of Tk5 lakh from him after promising to arrange government work through a ministry.
In the case filed after Hadi’s death, police arrested several people, including Faisal’s parents and his wife, who had been on the run.
According to investigators, six suspects have confessed to involvement in the murder, while four witnesses have given statements before a magistrate under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
