Indian visa operations in Bangladesh’s Chittagong have been suspended till further notice after the country experienced one of its worst bouts of violence after the death of student leader Sharif Osman
Hadi, as several media houses, cultural centres and political offices came under attack.
As the violence spread in Bangladesh on late Thursday, protesters attacked the Indian Assistant High Commission in Chittagong, in an escalation of diplomatic tensions since the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in an uprising last year. A large crowd attempting to storm the building were pushed back by security forces.
“Due to a recent security incident at AHCI Chittagong, Indian visa operations at Indian Visa Application Centre (IVAC) Chittagong will remain suspended from 21/12/2025 until further notice. The announcement for reopening the visa centre will be made after reviewing the situation,” the centre said in an update on its website.
In recent days, Bangladesh has seen protests erupt near the Indian High Commission in Dhaka as well as the assistant high commissions in Chittagong, Khulna and Rajshahi, with demonstrators taking to the streets following last week’s deadly attack on Osman Hadi.
On Thursday, India resumed operations at its Visa Application Centre (IVAC) in Dhaka after it was temporarily closed due to security concerns over an anti-Indian march. The IVAC located at Jamuna Future Park (JFP) in Dhaka serves as the principal integrated centre for all Indian visa services in the capital.
Dozens of protesters attempted to march to the office of the Assistant Indian High Commissioner in Rajshahi, demanding the “repatriation of all the killers including Sheikh Hasina.” There have been similar anti-India protests in Dhaka and other parts for some time.
The development came after India summoned Bangladesh’s High Commissioner in New Delhi, Muhammad Riaz Hamidullah, to issue a formal diplomatic protest over recent threats to the Indian High Commission in Dhaka and inflammatory anti-India statements by Bangladeshi political leaders.
There are five IVAC centres in Bangladesh. Apart from those in Dhaka, Khulna and Rajshahi, the two others are in the northeastern port city of Chattogram and northeastern Sylhet.
India–Bangladesh relations have been strained since the collapse of the Sheikh Hasina-led government on August 5, 2024, following student-led protests. Hasina fled to India after her ouster and has since been staying in a secret safe house in New Delhi. Tensions further increased over allegations that Sharif Osman Hadi’s attackers fled to India after last week’s attack.
In its reaction, New Delhi asserted that it has never allowed its territory to be used for activities inimical to the interests of Bangladesh.
