India summons Bangladesh envoy, stresses need for proper probe into Hadi killing
India on Tuesday (23 December) summoned Bangladesh High Commissioner in New Delhi Riaz Hamidullah and conveyed to him the need for a proper probe into the killing of Inqilab Mancha spokesperson Sharif Osman bin Hadi, people familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity.
Hamiddullah was called by B Shyam, joint secretary who heads the Bangladesh-Myanmar desk in the Indian External Affairs Ministry, late this evening and told that "instead of jumping the gun and blaming India for Hadi's death, Dhaka should conduct a thorough investigation to identify the perpetrators," according to Indian officials.
They claimed that unsubstantiated allegations about an Indian hand in Hadi's killing had escalated anti-India protests in Bangladesh including an attempt by a mob to storm the Indian Assistant High Commission in Chattogram last week.
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Hamidullah was summoned several hours after the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry called Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma this morning and conveyed to him Dhaka's "grave concern" over a string of protests near Bangladeshi diplomatic missions in India.
This was the second time Hamidullah was summoned by India in the last few days amid diplomatic tensions between India and Bangladesh.
This was also the second time in ten days that Verma was summoned to the foreign ministry in Dhaka to lodge a protest, while Hamidullah was also summoned to the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi last week over the security situation in Bangladesh.
Earlier on the day, the Bangladeshi foreign ministry said in a statement that Verma was apprised of Dhaka's "grave concern" over incidents outside the Bangladesh High Commission and the High Commissioner's residence in New Delhi on 20 December.
The MEA had last week conveyed the Bangladesh envoy about activities of "certain extremist elements" who have announced plans to create security challenges around the Indian mission in Dhaka.
