Published : 04 Jan 2026, 04:44 AM
Updated : 21 Aug 2026, 02:58 PM
Uncertainty over the whereabouts of Faisal Karim Masud, the prime suspect in the killing of Sharif Osman bin Hadi, has intensified after three video messages surfaced on social media in quick succession.
In the videos, Faisal denies any involvement in Hadi’s murder and claims that he has been in Dubai since the killing. He also displays what he says is his multiple-entry Dubai visa to support the claim.
Police, however, have consistently maintained that Faisal fled to India with his associate Alamgir Sheikh through the Haluaghat border in Mymensingh shortly after the killing.
Several people have been arrested on suspicion of helping Faisal escape, including the driver of a hired vehicle allegedly used to take him to the border.
The emergence of the videos has prompted fresh questions on social media over whether the messages are genuine and whether Faisal is indeed in Dubai or had crossed into India, as police earlier said.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Sheikh Md Sazzat Ali faced questions on the issue on Saturday while attending a discussion organised by the Bangladesh Crime Reporters Association (CRAB).
Initially declining to comment, he later said: “We have seen the videos and are examining them. We will make a statement after the verification process is complete.”
Speculation that Hadi’s killer had escaped to a neighbouring country began circulating online soon after the murder. Law enforcers later detained several individuals near the Haluaghat border, accusing them of facilitating Faisal’s escape. The driver who allegedly transported him to the border was also arrested.
On Dec 28, DMP Additional Commissioner (Crime and Operations) SN Md Nazrul Islam said at a press briefing that Faisal and Alamgir crossed the border into Meghalaya immediately after the killing. He also claimed that two people had been arrested by Meghalaya police for helping them.
Nazrul detailed what he said was their escape route: the two allegedly travelled from Dhaka to Aminbazar by CNG-run autorickshaw, then to Kalampur in Manikganj, before taking a private car to Haluaghat in Mymensingh. There, a man named “Philip” allegedly helped them cross the border and handed them over to another individual named “Putti”, who in turn passed them to a taxi driver named “Sami”, who allegedly drove them to the town of Tura in Meghalaya.
Nazrul said Bangladeshi Police had learned “through informal channels” that their Meghalaya counterparts had arrested Putti and Sami.
Within hours, however, India’s Border Security Force and Meghalaya police publicly denied the claims. Quoting a senior Meghalaya police official, the Hindustan Times reported that neither formal nor informal communication had been received from Bangladesh police, and that no suspects named in the report had been found or arrested in the Garo Hills region.
The report also said there was no intelligence input, ground verification or operational evidence to support the claim that Faisal and Alamgir crossed into India, or that individuals named Putti and Sami played any role.
The official added that neither person could be identified, traced or arrested anywhere in Meghalaya, suggesting the account may have been prepared without verification or coordination with Indian authorities.
Meanwhile, bdnews24.com has been unable to independently verify the authenticity of Faisal’s video messages or confirm his current location.
Inqilab Moncho convenor Hadi was shot by assailants in front of the Bijoynagar Water Tank in Dhaka on Dec 12 and later died in hospital in Singapore on Dec 19.
Since then, Inqilab Moncho activists have staged near-daily protests at Shahbagh, demanding justice. On Friday, they gave the government an ultimatum of 22 working days, warning of a movement to topple the government if the killers are not brought to trial.
