‘False and baseless’: MEA trashes Bangladesh’s claim of Indian role in violence

India-Bangladesh relations have been in freefall since the caretaker administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus assumed office in Aug 2024

Published on: Oct 3, 2025, 20:59:32 IST

By Rezaul H Laskar

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NEW DELHI: The external affairs ministry on Friday dismissed as “false and baseless” a senior Bangladeshi official’s claim that India was involved in violent clashes in the neighbouring country, and said the interim government in Dhaka should instead conduct serious investigations into the activities of local extremists.

Smoke billows from a burning market area at Guimara in Khagrachari district on September 28, 2025, after it was set ablaze during a clash between Hill and Bengali residents over the alleged rape of a female student, causing authorities to impose Section 144 (AFP FILE)

After violent clashes between two tribal groups and Bengali-speaking people at Khagrachhari district in Chittagong Hill Tracts in southwestern Bangladesh left three people dead and dozens injured last weekend, de-facto home minister Jahangir Alam Chowdhury alleged on Monday that the unrest was being instigated by India or fascist elements.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal responded to Chowdhury’s remarks during a weekly media briefing by dismissing them as baseless allegations. He urged Bangladesh’s caretaker administration to conduct an investigation to identify the extremist elements involved in targeting minorities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

“We categorically reject these false and baseless allegations. The interim government of Bangladesh is unable to maintain the law and order situation in the country and has this habit of routinely trying to shift the blame elsewhere,” Jaiswal said.

The interim government “would do well to introspect and conduct serious investigations into the action of local extremists committing violence, arson and land grab against the minority communities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts”, he said.

India-Bangladesh relations have been in freefall since the caretaker administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus assumed office in August 2024 after the fall of the government led by former premier Sheikh Hasina following weeks of protests led by student groups. The two sides have routinely traded charges, with the Indian government accusing the caretaker administration of failing to prevent the oppression of Bangladesh’s minorities.

The violence in Khagrachhari district erupted after the alleged rape of schoolgirl last week. Three tribal men were reportedly shot dead and dozens were injured in clashes last Sunday, and numerous shops and homes were also vandalised or burnt.

Members of tribal groups clashed with Bengali-speaking people and security forces over the weekend, and army personnel and policemen were among those injured in firing. While talking to reporters in Dhaka on Monday, Chowdhury claimed elements with vested interests were trying to destabilise the situation in Khagrachhari. “This is happening with instigation from India or fascists,” he was quoted as saying by UNB news agency.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rezaul H Laskar
Rezaul Hasan Laskar is Foreign Editor with the Hindustan Times, which he joined in 2015. He began as a journalist in his hometown of Shillong in northeast India and has worked in newspapers and wire services over the years. He moved to New Delhi in 1997 and initially focused on defence, national security, Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, while also working of foreign policy and international relations. He has been part of the media delegation accompanying PMs on foreign visits and has reported from destinations ranging from Tibet to Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2013, he was the Press Trust of India correspondent in Pakistan, one of only two Indian journalists allowed to report from the country. He extensively covered Pakistan’s domestic politics and the life of the common people, as well as the fallout of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on India-Pakistan relations and the subsequent trial in Pakistan of the suspects involved in the attack. As part of his reportage in Pakistan, he travelled the breadth of the country, from the Swat Valley to Balochistan. Reza’s first gig in journalism was writing a weekly music column, and music – especially classic rock – remains a keen interest. He is also a movie buff and a keen photographer.Read More

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