Bangladesh police’s many U-turns on Sharif Osman Hadi’s murder suspects

The Bangladesh police have no clarity on the whereabouts of the prime suspects in the murder of Inquilab Moncho leader Sharif Osman Hadi. On December 15, 2025 , authorities themselves clarified that they have no verified proof that the killers are in India . Despite this, they have now come up with a new narrative claiming that the suspects fled to India, though they have provided no evidence or documentation to support this assertion.

Hadi, 32, was shot in the head on December 12 while campaigning for the upcoming national elections in Dhaka. He was airlifted to Singapore for advanced treatment but succumbed to his injuries on December 18. His killing has drawn widespread attention given his prominence during the July-August 2024 street protests that led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government. Hadi was also a parliamentary candidate for the February 12 elections.

Addressing a press conference, Additional Police Commissioner (Crime and Operations) S N Md Nazrul Islam claimed the suspects, Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh, fled Bangladesh through the Haluaghat border into the Indian state of Meghalaya with the help of local associates. According to DMP, the suspects were allegedly received by an individual named Purti and later transported to Tura city by a taxi driver named Sami.

Bangladeshi authorities also claimed that Putti and Sami were arrested in Meghalaya by Meghalaya police for allegedly assisting the suspects after their border crossing. However, Indian officials, including Meghalaya Police and the Border Security Force (BSF), have publicly denied these arrests and stated that they have no record of either Putti or Sami being detained, nor of the main suspects entering Meghalaya. This means that the reports of the arrests are based solely on claims from Bangladeshi authorities and have not been independently confirmed.

Meanwhile, in Bangladesh, several other people have been arrested in connection with the case, including family members and associates accused of planning the attack or aiding the suspects’ escape. The two main suspects remain at large as cross-border investigations continue, highlighting the political sensitivity of the case and the challenges in verifying conflicting narratives between the two countries.