The move to suspend Visa service follows protests outside the Bangladesh mission in Delhi over the lynching of a Hindu man in Bangladesh, further straining already tense bilateral ties.
BY PC Bureau
December 22, 2025: Bangladesh on Monday suspended all consular and visa services at its High Commission in New Delhi, a day after its foreign affairs adviser said Dhaka was considering “scaling back” its diplomatic presence in India. The move followed a protest outside the mission over the lynching of a Hindu man in Bangladesh.
A notice pasted outside the High Commission said: “Due to unavoidable circumstances, all consular and visa services at the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi have been temporarily suspended until further notice. Any inconvenience caused is deeply regretted.”
The decision comes days after India temporarily shut its visa application centre in Chattogram following protests by demonstrators outside the Assistant High Commission of India in the Bangladeshi port city. Chattogram is Bangladesh’s second-largest city.
India–Bangladesh relations have remained strained since the August 2024 ouster of then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a student-led movement. The latest spike in tensions followed the fatal shooting of youth politician Sharif Osman Hadi, with sections of Bangladesh’s political class blaming India for the unrest. Hasina has since been living in New Delhi after resigning and fleeing the country.
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In a press release issued on Sunday, Bangladesh’s foreign ministry described the protest outside its High Commission in New Delhi as “regrettable,” adding that the incident could not be dismissed as “misleading propaganda.” The phrase appeared to counter a statement by India’s Ministry of External Affairs, which had rejected the portrayal of the protest by sections of the Bangladeshi media.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s leading daily Prothom Alo reported that the country’s visa centre in Siliguri, West Bengal, was “vandalised” during protests over the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das, a Hindu man allegedly attacked by a mob on accusations of blasphemy.
According to the report, a five-member delegation from a group of around 300 demonstrators entered the visa office and asked staff to keep the facility closed as a form of protest. Officials said a decision on reopening the centre would be taken after closely monitoring the situation.
