Bangladesh Summons Indian Envoy Over Deadly Shooting Amid Election Tensions

A deadly shooting on Friday in Bangladesh has shaken up the interim government of Muhammad Yunus. The development comes after the country’s poll commission announced its election schedule. Dhaka has now summoned the Indian High Commissioner, a move that has increased diplomatic tension between the two nations. Bangladesh’s foreign ministry has once again expressed “serious concerns” over statements made by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from India and reiterated its long-standing demand that she be sent back. Hasina, Bangladesh’s longest-serving Prime Minister, fled to India after her Awami League government was overthrown in August 2024 following weeks of violent unrest. Last month, Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal were sentenced to death by Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal on charges of war crimes — verdicts that Hasina has dismissed as “biased and politically motivated”. But what exactly happened on the ground? And why did the Yunus government escalate the matter by summoning India’s envoy despite the absence of verified evidence of cross-border involvement? On Friday, three motorcycle-borne assailants opened fire on Sharif Osman Hadi,a candidate in the upcoming parliamentary elections, in broad daylight in the heart of Dhaka. Hadi, a member of the anti-Hasina platform Inqilab Manch and known for his outspoken anti-India views, was campaigning in central Dhaka’s Bijoynagar area when he was attacked. He is contesting as an Independent from the Dhaka-8 constituency. Police said the attackers fired multiple rounds before fleeing the scene. “Osman Hadi was shot at 2:25 pm in front of DR Tower on Box Culvert Road at Bijoynagar. We have initially learned that three assailants on a motorcycle shot him and fled,” a Dhaka Metropolitan Police spokesperson said. Hadi was rushed to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) with gunshot wounds to the head.He remains in critical condition and is reportedly in a coma. “His condition is critical. He has been provided life support. The bullet remains lodged inside his head,”Prothom Aloquoted DMCH director Brigadier Mohammad Asaduzzaman as saying. Chief Adviser Yunus expressed deep concern, calling the attack “completely unacceptable” in an election environment and instructing law enforcement agencies to conduct a swift and comprehensive investigation. “Such a violent attack in an election environment is completely unacceptable and a deeply regrettable incident for the country’s peaceful political atmosphere,” Yunus said in a statement. The Chief Adviser gave strict instructions to law enforcement agencies to conduct a swift and comprehensive investigation to identify and bring all those involved in the attack to justice, the state-run news agencyBangladesh Sangbad Sangstha(BSS) said. The attack came just a day after Bangladesh’s Election Commissionannounced the schedule for polls beginning February 12 next year. Yunus has said he will step down once elections are held. The Inqilab Manch emerged as a right-wing group in August 2024 following the student-led protests that toppled Hasina’s Awami League government. The group has been at the forefront of calls to dissolve the Awami League, arrest its leaders en masse, and prosecute those it labels “terrorists” from the former regime — positions that have contributed to increased political tensions. On Sunday, Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Indian High CommissionerPranay Verma, urging India to arrest and hand over the suspects if they had entered Indian territory. “The Ministry sought India’s cooperation in preventing the escape of the suspects involved in the attempted assassination of Sharif Osman Hadi and, should they enter India, to ensure their immediate apprehension and extradition,” the foreign ministry said. The move followed allegations posted on Facebook by Qatar-based journalist Zulkarnain Saer, who claimed that one of the attackers was a former leader of the banned Chhatra League — the student wing of the Awami League — and that the suspects had fled to Guwahati, Assam. Saer alleged that Faisal Karim Masud,also known as Daud Khan, crossed the Haluaghat border into India on December 12 and shared selfies from Guwahati using an Indian phone number. As perIndia Today,Saer claimed on Facebook that the attackers fled to India and are currently in Guwahati. “The shooter involved in the attempted murder by gunfire of Osman Hadi, an organiser of the Inqilab Manch, is former Chhatra League leader Faisal Karim Masud, also known as Daud Khan. Along with his accomplice, motorcycle rider Alamgir Hossain, he crossed the Haluaghat border in Mymensingh and entered India on December 12. According to a special intelligence source, after entering India, Jahangir Kabir Nanak’s PS, Md Masudur Rahman Biplob, provided this Indian phone number to Faisal Karim Masud: +91 0039*0. Using this number, Faisal Karim Masud, aka Daud Khan, sent selfies last night to several phone numbers. One of those numbers intercepted the image through which this photo was obtained. It has been confirmed that the photo was taken yesterday in Guwahati, Assam, India,” Saer wrote on Facebook on December 15. Notably, this came despite Bangladeshi police saying there was no verified evidence that the attackers had crossed into India. “There is no verified evidence that the attackers have crossed into India,” DMP Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Talebur Rahman toldJagonews24.“At this stage, we have no confirmed information indicating any suspect has left the country.” Police said multiple investigative teams are pursuing various leads, including examining whether Faisal Karim Masud, a part-owner of a local IT firm, had any role in the attack. During the meeting, Bangladesh also raised “serious concern” over what it described as “inflammatory and incendiary” statements made by Sheikh Hasina from India. “The Government of Bangladesh conveyed its concern over allowing fugitive Sheikh Hasina to make statements inciting supporters to engage in terrorist activities aimed at undermining the upcoming parliamentary elections,” the foreign ministry said. Dhaka once again demanded her “expeditious extradition”. Hasina has criticised the dissolution of the Awami League and its exclusion from the upcoming polls as unjust. “You cannot disenfranchise millions of people if you want a political system that works,” she said recently, questioning the legitimacy of elections without her party’s participation. Bangladesh also accused Awami League members based in India of planning and financing violence to disrupt the polls. The foreign ministry said officials drew Verma’s attention to “anti-Bangladesh activities by fugitive Awami League members staying in India”. The ministry accused these Awami League members of “planning, organising, and helping to carry out terrorist activities within Bangladesh to hinder the upcoming elections”. New Delhi has rejected these allegations. Bangladesh is essentially accusing Hasina and Awami League leaders of attempting to disrupt next year’s election. However, truth be told, the situation in Bangladesh remains tenuous. The capital, Dhaka, witnessed a series of crude bomb blasts and a spate of killings last month. Dhaka is also attempting to draw India into the matter, a classic distraction ploy that plays to the domestic audience. India responded sharply, dismissing the Yunus government’s claims. The Ministry of External Affairs said it “categorically rejects” allegations that Indian territory is being used for activities inimical to Bangladesh’s interests, reiterating that New Delhi has never allowed such actions. The MEA also said India supports “free, fair, inclusive and credible elections” in Bangladesh — a phrase widely viewed as a pointed reference to the exclusion of the Awami League from the electoral process. “We expect the interim government of Bangladesh to take all necessary measures to ensure internal law and order, including for the purpose of holding peaceful elections,” the ministry said. 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