Top Indian intelligence officials have told CNN-News18 that there is no official confirmation that the two prime suspects in the killing of Inqilab Moncho leader and Dhaka-8 aspirant Sharif Osman Hadi
are in Indian custody or have been identified on Indian soil. Officials said the inputs shared with Dhaka so far are based on border-movement indicators and facilitator interception, not on any physical apprehension of the suspects.
They emphasised that cooperation with the Dhaka Police is ongoing, but there is no evidence of the suspects’ presence in Meghalaya custody at this stage. Intelligence assessments suggest the pair may have used informal border routes in the Haluaghat–South Garo Hills sector, a corridor typically exploited by economic migrants and smugglers.
Sources added that although Dhaka Police reached out to Meghalaya Police, no movement has been detected and no arrests have been made on the Indian side so far.
Dhaka Police Claims Escape Into India
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), however, maintains that the two main suspects—alleged shooter Faisal Karim Masud and suspected accomplice Alamgir Sheikh—fled Bangladesh and crossed into India shortly after the murder.
At a briefing at the DMP Media Centre on 28 December 2025, Additional Commissioner S N Nazrul Islam said the duo escaped through the Haluaghat border belt in Mymensingh, entering India’s Meghalaya via a “pre-arranged facilitation chain”. According to investigators, Bangladesh-side handlers escorted them to the border, where they were received on the Indian side by an individual identified as Purti. They were later taken towards Tura, Meghalaya, by a taxi operator named Sami.
Islam said the DMP is coordinating with Indian authorities for the arrest and extradition of Masud and Sheikh.
Osman Hadi’s Murder And Aftermath
Sharif Osman Hadi, a prominent political figure and vocal critic of India and the Awami League, was among the leading faces of the July 2024 uprising that brought down the Sheikh Hasina-led government. After the uprising, he founded the Inqilab Moncho platform and was preparing to contest the upcoming parliamentary elections.
On 12 December, Hadi was shot in the head by masked gunmen and later flown to Singapore, where he succumbed to his injuries. His killing triggered massive protests across Bangladesh. Supporters vandalised media houses such as Prothom Alo and The Daily Star and targeted Indian diplomatic offices.
The unrest spread to Mymensingh, where a Hindu youth was lynched and his body set on fire, drawing widespread condemnation. Tensions between India and Bangladesh escalated further after allegations that Hadi’s killers had fled into India.
