Days after a deadly attack targeting outspoken anti-India and anti-Sheikh Hasina radical leader Sharif Osman Hadi, Bangladesh’s interim administration, led by Muhammad Yunus, has officially sought assistance from India to apprehend and extradite the assailants.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!This diplomatic request comes despite the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) stating there is “no verified evidence” that the shooters have crossed into India. However, the move follows public claims by a Qatar-based journalist, corroborated by some local media, suggesting two suspects—including a former leader of the banned Awami League’s student wing, Chhatra League—fled across the border into India’s Assam state.
The Attack and The Aftermath
The violence, which rocked the capital, Dhaka, occurred a day after the schedule for crucial parliamentary elections was announced. Three men on motorcycles opened fire on Sharif Osman Hadi, the spokesperson for the Anti-Sheikh Hasina Inqilab Manch and an independent candidate for Dhaka-8. Hadi was shot in the head, is reportedly in a coma, and is expected to be airlifted to Singapore for critical care.
The interim government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma on Sunday, urging New Delhi to arrest and hand over the attackers if they are found on Indian soil.
Diplomatic Clash and Cross-Border Accusations
The meeting went beyond the shooting investigation. Bangladesh’s foreign office also conveyed its “serious concern” over what it called continued “incendiary statements” being made by the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is currently residing in India. Dhaka accused Hasina of calling on her supporters to engage in “terrorist activities” aimed at thwarting the upcoming elections.
New Delhi quickly dismissed these allegations. India’s foreign ministry reiterated its stance that its territory has never been used for activities hostile to the interests of Bangladesh. Furthermore, India emphasized that it expects the Yunus interim government to “take all necessary measures for ensuring internal law and order” to hold peaceful elections.
Escalating Pre-Election Instability
The attack on Hadi highlights the deepening political instability gripping Bangladesh ahead of the polls promised by the Yunus administration for February 2026. Hadi, who advocated for a constitutional ban on the Awami League and presented himself as a fierce anti-India voice, is fighting for his life alongside critically ill former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia (mother of BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman) at Dhaka’s Evercare Hospital.
The widely perceived gap between the Yunus administration’s promise of stability and the reality of escalating political killings, crude bomb attacks, and the inability of key political figures like Tarique Rahman to return from exile, has cast a heavy shadow over the prospects of a fair and peaceful election. As one academic noted, an attack on a visible political voice right as the election season begins is ultimately “about fear, control, and the message it sends to everyone else.”
