Bangladesh activist’s killers entered India via Meghalaya, held in West Bengal
The accused first crossed into India through the Meghalaya border & travelled across several locations in Northeast before reaching West Bengal, police said
Image of the two arrested suspects, identified as Faisal Karim Masud & Alamgir Hossain accused of killing Bangladesh political activist Sharif Osman Hadi (Photo: We are Bangladesh/meta)
Kolkata, March 9: Two Bangladesh nationals accused in the murder of political activist Sharif Osman Hadi allegedly entered India through the Meghalaya border before moving across parts of the Northeast, investigators said after their arrest in West Bengal.
The Special Task Force (STF) of the West Bengal Police arrested the two suspects, identified as Rahul alias Faisal Karim Masud (37) and Alamgir Hossain (34), from an area near the India-Bangladesh border under Bangaon sub-division in North 24 Parganas district on Sunday.
The two men are accused of killing Hadi, spokesperson of the Inqilab Moncho political group in Bangladesh.
According to West Bengal Police, the accused first crossed into India through the Meghalaya border after fleeing Bangladesh and later travelled across several locations in the Northeast before eventually reaching West Bengal.
“They illegally entered Indian territory through the Meghalaya border and moved through different places in India and finally came to West Bengal’s Bongaon, with the intention of crossing back into Bangladesh,” the police said in a statement.
Investigators said the suspects used false identities and temporary hideouts while travelling through the region in an attempt to avoid detection.
According to police, the two men fled Dhaka immediately after the shooting in December last year. They initially escaped on a motorcycle and later changed vehicles multiple times in a bid to evade law-enforcement agencies.
Officials said the duo switched cars at least five times while travelling towards the Haluaghat border in Bangladesh’s Mymensingh district through a “cut route” before crossing into India under the cover of darkness.
Investigators believe they managed to enter Meghalaya by allegedly bypassing surveillance along the international border.
Investigators suspect the accused may have been hired to carry out the assassination and are now trying to identify those who may have planned the attack.
“We are examining whether the accused had any local contacts while hiding in India and who might have financed the operation,” an intelligence officer said.
A case has been registered and the two arrested men were remanded to police custody after being produced before a court on Sunday. Further investigation into the case is ongoing.
IANS