Bangladesh ramps up rhetoric, Indian agencies push back

Tensions escalated over comments on minority violence and the murder of student leader Hadi, with both nations lodging formal protests amid upcoming elections.

Bangladesh on Sunday sharpened its rhetoric against India, with Dhaka accusing New Delhi of spreading a “misleading narrative” on the condition of minorities in the country and Bangladeshi police claiming that suspects in the murder of radical student leader Sharif Osman Hadi had fled to Meghalaya, an allegation rejected by security agencies in the northeastern state.

A convoy carrying the body of Sharif Osman Hadi, a student leader, who died after being shot in the head, moves along the crowd after the funeral prayer in Dhaka. (Reuters)

The neighbouring country’s foreign ministry, in a statement, contended there was a “selective and unfair bias” in certain quarters in India whereby “isolated incidents are amplified, misrepresented and propagated to incite common Indians against Bangladesh, its diplomatic missions and other establishments in India”. The spreading of “misleading narratives” has the potential to undermine “good neighbourly relations and mutual trust”, it said.

The statement came days after the ministry of external affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal flagged “unremitting hostility against minorities in Bangladesh” in the wake of the December 18 lynching of Dipu Chandra Das, who was beaten to death by a mob after being accused of blasphemy.

Bangladesh’s foreign ministry said Jaiswal’s comments “do not reflect the facts” and rejected “inaccurate, exaggerated, or motivated narratives that misrepresent Bangladesh’s longstanding tradition of communal harmony”. Dhaka contended there were “systematic attempts to portray the isolated incidents of criminal acts as systemic persecution of the Hindus”, and these are being “used to propagate anti-Bangladesh sentiments” in India.

Jaiswal told a weekly media briefing last week that India condemns the “gruesome killing” of Das and expects the perpetrators of the crime will be brought to justice. He also pointed out that more than 2,900 incidents of violence against minorities, including cases of killings, arson and land grabs, had been documented by independent sources during the tenure of the interim government in Dhaka. “These incidents cannot be brushed aside as mere media exaggerations or dismissed as political violence,” he said. There was no immediate response from the MEA on the statement from Dhaka.

Earlier on Sunday, Dhaka Metropolitan Police additional commissioner SN Nazrul Islam claimed that two primary suspects in the Hadi murder had crossed into Meghalaya via the Haluaghat border “with the help of local associates”.

“The suspects, Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh, crossed into the Indian state of Meghalaya…They entered India via the Haluaghat border. After crossing, they were initially received by an individual named Purti. Later, a taxi driver named Sami transported them to Tura city in Meghalaya,” The Daily Star said, quoting Islam.

The chronology of events.

The BSF rejected the claim. “There is no evidence whatsoever of these individuals crossing the international border from the Haluaghat sector into Meghalaya. No such incident has been detected or reported by the BSF. These claims are baseless and misleading,” BSF Inspector General OP Upadhayay said.

A senior Meghalaya police officer added there was “no input or intelligence to corroborate” the allegation from the Bangladesh Police. “None of the accused named in the report have been traced in Garo Hills, and no arrests have been made. The narrative appears to have been constructed without verification or coordination with Indian authorities,” the official said, requesting anonymity.

Both Meghalaya Police and BSF reiterated that they remain open to cooperation with Bangladesh authorities, but stressed that action will be taken only on verified information shared through established formal channels, underscoring that narratives cannot substitute facts.

India-Bangladesh cratered after the formation of the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus in August 2024 following the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina-led regime. Tensions have flared up recently after protests in Bangladesh over Hadi’s shooting took on an anti-India hue. Hadi, injured in a shooting on December 12, died in a Singapore hospital on December 18. Both sides have called in each other’s envoys to the foreign ministry to lodge formal protests over developments that have impacted bilateral ties.

The spiralling tensions come ahead of planned national elections in Bangladesh scheduled in February.