What Happened in Bangladesh's Chittagong That Forced India to Suspend Visa Services?

India has suspended visa services at its Chittagong centre in Bangladesh since December 21, following serious security concerns triggered by a mob incident on the night of December 18–19. While operations

in Chittagong remain halted, visa services continue uninterrupted at all other Indian visa centres across Bangladesh.According to IVAC’s official notice, all Indian visa operations at Chittagong will remain halted until further notice, with plans to resume only after a thorough review of the local security environment.

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Notably, the suspension comes amid widespread unrest across Bangladesh, triggered by protests over the killing of student leader Sharif Osman Hadi and rising tensions that have seen demonstrators target diplomatic missions.While the Chittagong centre remains closed, Indian visa application centres in Dhaka, Sylhet, Rajshahi and other locations continue operations, albeit with heightened security measures.Also Read |India-Bangladesh Ties Hit New Low: Dhaka Hints at Cutting Diplomatic PresenceEarlier on December 22, Bangladesh suspended all consular and visa services at its High Commission in New Delhi and Agartala, a day after its foreign affairs adviser said Dhaka was considering “scaling back” its presence at the mission, citing a protest outside the premises over the lynching of a Hindu man in Bangladesh."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,” a notice put up outside the Bangladesh High Commission read.Although New Delhi–Dhaka relations have remained strained since the August 2024 ouster of Bangladesh’s then prime minister Sheikh Hasina in a student-led movement, the latest flare-up was triggered by the fatal shooting of youth politician Sharif Osman Hadi, with a section of Bangladesh’s political establishment placing the blame on India.Hasina has been living in New Delhi since being forced to resign and flee. In a press release on Sunday, Bangladesh’s foreign ministry described the protest outside its High Commission the previous day as “regrettable,” adding that the incident could not be dismissed as “misleading propaganda” - a phrase used by India’s Ministry of External Affairs while rejecting the manner in which Bangladeshi media portrayed the demonstration.Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s Prothom Alo reported that the country’s visa centre in Siliguri, West Bengal, was “vandalised” during a protest over the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das, the Hindu man who was attacked by a mob on allegations of blasphemy.