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Published : 08 Mar 2026, 09:55 PM
The West Bengal Police in India have arrested two individuals, including Faisal Karim Masud, the prime suspect in the murder of Inqilab Moncho leader Sharif Osman bin Hadi.
The arrests took place near the Bongaon border.
While Dhaka police had asserted nearly two and a half months ago that the suspects were hiding in India, Indian authorities had previously issued a strenuous denial.
On Dec 28, 16 days after the shooting of Hadi, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) claimed that Faisal, and his accomplice, motorbike driver Alamgir Hossain, were residing in Meghalaya.
At the time, Indian officials flatly rejected the claim, saying Faisal was not in the country.
Indian media outlets, however, citing a bulletin from the West Bengal Police Special Task Force (STF), confirmed the duo’s arrest on Sunday.
According to a report by the news agency ANI, the men were detained on Saturday night in Bongaon.
The STF said the operation was based on "secret and credible" intelligence suggesting that two Bangladeshi nationals, wanted for serious crimes including extortion and murder, had infiltrated India.
The suspects were reportedly seeking refuge in Bongaon to slip back into Bangladesh when the opportunity arose.
During initial interrogation, the STF found that Faisal and Alamgir had fled to India after the killing of Hadi.
They reportedly entered illegally via the Meghalaya border and moved across several locations in India before arriving in Bongaon.
A case has been registered, and the suspects were remanded into police custody following a court appearance on Sunday.
This development comes at a sensitive time for India-Bangladesh relations, which have remained chilled since the fall of the Awami League government following the 2024 mass uprising.
Acting DMP Commissioner Md Sarwar said they had learnt of the matter through media reports.
“We are now trying to confirm the matter formally through the appropriate authorities,” he said.
Hadi was shot on Dec 12, a day after the election schedule in Bangladesh was announced, in front of the Bijoynagar water tank in Dhaka.
A video from the time showed two men arriving on a motorcycle and shooting Hadi in the head at close range.
He later died on Dec 19 while undergoing treatment in Singapore.
Based on that video, police had said that Faisal was riding pillion on the motorcycle used in the attack, while Alamgir was driving it.
The shooting of Hadi, a potential candidate for the Dhaka-8 parliamentary seat, sparked widespread anger in Bangladesh at the time.
Protests were held blaming India for the incident, and unrest broke out during demonstrations heading towards the Indian High Commission in Dhaka.
Protesters claimed that the attackers had fled to India after shooting Hadi.
After Hadi died while undergoing treatment in Singapore, protests and violent incidents took place across Bangladesh.
Demonstrations and clashes occurred outside the Indian High Commission and assistant high commissions, as well as near Bangladesh’s High Commission and deputy high commissions in India.
Shortly after the news of the arrests of the two main suspects, Faisal and Alamgir, emerged on Sunday evening, DMP Additional Commissioner (Crime and Operations) SN Md Nazrul Islam told bdnews24.com that Indian authorities had not yet formally confirmed the matter.
“They have not officially confirmed it to us yet. But I knew they had gone to India.
“I spoke with sufficient evidence in hand. Even a state police force there had assisted us at the time,” he said.
Nazrul was the same police official who claimed at a media briefing in Dhaka on Dec 28 that Faisal and Alamgir had crossed the border into Meghalaya immediately after the killing.
He also said that Meghalaya Police had arrested two people for allegedly assisting them.
