Dhaka Police claims suspects in Osman Hadi's killing fled to India; Meghalaya cops, BSF deny

TWo briny suspects in the cleanup of east pakistani educatee leader Sharif Osman Hadi fled to republic of india through the Haluaghat border in the country’s Mymensingh city and entered Meghalaya, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) was quoted as saying by local daily ‘The Daily Star’. However, the claims have now been rejected both by the Meghalaya Police as well as the Border Security Force (Meghalaya Frontier).Notably, the death of Osman Hadi led to large-scale protests and violence in the country. He was shot in the head on December 12 during an election campaign in central Dhaka’s Bijoynagar area and later flown to Singapore for treatment. Hadi succumbed to his injuries on December 18.ALSO READ | Osman Hadi's Inqilab Moncho plans mega blockades across Bangladesh, issues warningOsman Hadi's shooters fled to India: Dhaka PoliceDuring a press conference at the DMP media centre, additional commissioner SN Nazrul Islam said the suspects, Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh, crossed into India through the Haluaghat border and reached Meghalaya allegedly with the help of local associates.“According to our information, the suspects entered India via the Haluaghat border. After crossing, they were initially received by an individual named Purti. Later, a taxi driver named Sami transported them to Tura city in Meghalaya,” the report quoted the official as saying.The official also claimed that the two individuals who allegedly helped the suspects enter Meghalaya have now been detained in India.“We are maintaining communication with Indian authorities through both formal and informal channels to ensure their arrest and extradition,” Nazrul said, as per the report.Meghalaya Police, BSF dismiss ‘false narrative’A senior official at Meghalaya Police headquarters dismissed claims from the neighbouring country that two accused had crossed into India from Bangladesh’s Haluaghat border.“No formal or informal communication has been received from Bangladesh police. None of the accused named in the report have been traced in Garo Hills, and no arrests have been made,” the senior police official told HT over the phone.Backing the police, Border Security Force (Meghalaya Frontier) Inspector General OP Upadhayay rejected the claims.He told HT, “There is no evidence whatsoever of these individuals crossing the international border from the Haluaghat sector into Meghalaya. No such incident has been detected or reported by the BSF. These claims are baseless and misleading.”Who was Osman Hadi?Osman Hadi was part of the anti-Sheikh Hasina platform Inqilab Manch. He was also a candidate in the upcoming February elections and was campaigning as an independent from the Dhaka-8 constituency when the attack took place.Inqilab Manch made headlines during the July uprising in Bangladesh last year, which eventually led to the removal of Hasina.Large-scale protests and violence broke out in the neighbouring country after Hadi's shooting, with his party Inqilab Manch warning the interim government of more agitation if it failed to act in the matter.