Dhaka Metropolitan Police say two key suspects in the murder of political activist Osman Hadi fled to India through the Meghalaya border with help from local associates. Bangladesh is in touch with Indian authorities to secure their arrest and extradition.
BY PC Bureau
Two prime suspects in the murder of Bangladeshi political activist Osman Hadi fled to India through the Meghalaya border shortly after the killing, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) said on Friday, according to a report by The Daily Star.
Addressing a press briefing at the DMP Media Centre, Additional Commissioner SN Nazrul Islam said investigators have confirmed that the suspects—identified as Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh—escaped Bangladesh with assistance from local associates and crossed into India via the Haluaghat border in Mymensingh district.
Meghalaya Police have arrested Putti and Sami for assisting Hadi’s killers to flee in India.#osmanhadi #India #meghalaya #centristnation pic.twitter.com/0jwumIAYCE
— Centrist Nation TV (@centristnattv) December 28, 2025
“According to our information, the suspects entered India through the Haluaghat border. After crossing, they were initially received by an individual named Purti. Subsequently, a taxi driver named Sami transported them to Tura city in Meghalaya,” Nazrul Islam said, as quoted by The Daily Star.
The senior police official said Bangladeshi authorities have received informal intelligence indicating that both individuals who allegedly assisted the suspects after they crossed into India—Purti and Sami—have since been detained by Indian authorities. However, he noted that official confirmation from Indian agencies is still awaited.
“We are maintaining communication with Indian authorities through both formal and informal channels to ensure the arrest and extradition of the suspects,” Nazrul Islam said, adding that coordination between law enforcement agencies of the two countries is ongoing.
He reiterated that the Bangladesh government is actively pursuing the return of the fugitives and has formally engaged with New Delhi to facilitate their arrest and handover under existing bilateral arrangements.
Osman Hadi was a prominent political figure and a vocal critic of India as well as the Awami League. He rose to national prominence during last year’s violent student-led street movement—popularly known as the July Uprising—which culminated in the collapse of the Sheikh Hasina-led government.
In the aftermath of the uprising, Hadi launched a new political platform called Inqilab Mancha and was preparing to contest the parliamentary elections scheduled for February. His growing influence and outspoken positions had made him a polarising figure in Bangladesh’s deeply fractured political landscape.
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Hadi was shot in the head by masked gunmen in Dhaka on December 12. He was later airlifted to Singapore for advanced medical treatment but succumbed to his injuries six days later.
His killing sparked widespread unrest across Bangladesh, particularly in the capital. Angry mobs torched the offices of mass-circulation newspapers Prothom Alo and The Daily Star, along with prominent cultural organisations such as Chhayanat and Udichi Shilpi Goshthi in Dhaka.
The violence also spread to parts of central Bangladesh, where a Hindu factory worker was lynched by a mob in Mymensingh, further inflaming communal tensions and deepening instability in the days following Hadi’s death.
Authorities say the investigation remains ongoing, with efforts focused on tracing the broader network involved in the assassination and ensuring accountability for those responsible.
