DMP claims Hadi's killers fled to India; Meghalaya police, BSF call it 'misleading': Hindustan Times
According to the DMP, "informal communication" suggested that two Indian middlemen, identified as Putti and Sami, had already been arrested by Meghalaya police for aiding the fugitives. The DMP also revealed that it plans to submit a charge sheet within the next seven to ten days.
Meghalaya police and India's Border Security Force (BSF) have denied the Dhaka Metropolitan Police's (DMP) claim that two men directly involved in the murder of Inqilab Mancha spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi fled to India.
A senior official at the Meghalaya Police headquarters reportedly told the Hindustan Times (HT) that they have received "no formal or informal communication" from Bangladesh regarding the matter.
According to the report, the official further clarified over the phone that none of the accused named in the reports have been traced in the Garo Hills, and no arrests have been made.
Additionally, Inspector General OP Upadhayay of the Border Security Force (BSF) of the Meghalaya Frontier rejected the claims, describing them as "baseless and misleading."
He stated that there is no evidence of the suspects crossing the international border from the Haluaghat sector into Meghalaya. These denials follow the press briefing where DMP Additional Commissioner (Crime and Operations) SN Md Nazrul Islam asserted that the two main suspects, Faisal Karim Masud and Md Alamgir Sheikh, had escaped to India. The DMP officer provided a detailed timeline, claiming the duo travelled from Dhaka to Haluaghat in Mymensingh before crossing the border with the help of intermediaries.
According to the DMP, "informal communication" suggested that two Indian middlemen, identified as Putti and Sami, had already been arrested by Meghalaya police for aiding the fugitives. The DMP also revealed that it plans to submit a charge sheet within the next seven to ten days.
Investigators have so far arrested 11 people and recovered two foreign pistols, 52 rounds of ammunition. Those already in custody confirmed that the accused had escaped, said the DMP, adding that, while the main suspect remains at large, authorities are pursuing both formal and informal channels with India to bring them back.
Regarding the motive, Detective Branch (DB) chief Shafiqul Islam said political factors may be involved but refrained from disclosing names due to the ongoing investigation. Earlier, on 12 December, Hadi was critically injured after he was shot in the head in broad daylight in Dhaka's Paltan area.
He was later taken to a hospital in Singapore for advanced treatment, where he died on 18 December. Hadi's funeral was held on 20 December at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad, with hundreds of thousands of people in attendance. Since his death, supporters of Inqilab Mancha have been holding protests across the country, demanding the swift arrest of those responsible and accountability for alleged negligence by law enforcement agencies.
