Meghalaya refutes Bangladesh’s claim
Security and police agencies in Meghalaya, on Sunday, strongly refuted claims made by Bangladesh Police that suspects involved in the murder of student leader Sharif Osman Hadi had crossed into India through the Meghalaya border. Officials described the allegations as unsubstantiated and misleading.
The Border Security Force (BSF) said there was no indication of any illegal cross-border movement from the Haluaghat sector into Meghalaya.
BSF Inspector General for Meghalaya, OP Opadhyay, stated that neither surveillance systems nor ground patrols had detected such an entry, adding that no reports of infiltration had been received by the force.
Senior Meghalaya police officials echoed this position, saying there was no intelligence input or operational evidence to support the claim that the suspects were hiding in the state, particularly in the Garo Hills region.
They said local police units had not observed any suspicious movement and were continuing to coordinate closely with central security agencies. BSF officials further noted that border units remain on heightened alert given the volatile situation in neighbouring Bangladesh.
The international border in the western sector of Meghalaya is under continuous monitoring, and any attempt to cross illegally would be promptly detected and acted upon. The Garo Hills region, which lies along Meghalaya’s western boundary with Bangladesh, is considered a sensitive area and is guarded round the clock by the BSF.
Earlier, Bangladesh Police had claimed that two key suspects in the killing of Inquilab Moncho leader Osman Hadi had fled Bangladesh and entered India via the Haluaghat border in the Mymensingh area.
Speaking at a press briefing in Dhaka, a senior Dhaka Metropolitan Police official named Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh as the accused, alleging they crossed into India with the help of local contacts.
According to Bangladeshi authorities, the suspects were allegedly transported to Tura in Meghalaya after crossing the border. Bangladesh Police also said they had received informal information suggesting that individuals who assisted the suspects had been detained by Indian agencies, and that Dhaka was pursuing efforts to bring those involved back.
Sharif Osman Hadi, 32, was shot during an election campaign event in Dhaka on December 12. He was later flown to Singapore for advanced medical treatment but died on December 18. A spokesperson of the political platform Inquilab Moncho, Hadi had emerged as a prominent youth leader during the mass protests in mid-2024 that led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League Government. He was also contesting the parliamentary elections scheduled for February 12.
