The West Bengal Police’s Special Task Force on Saturday arrested a third Bangladeshi citizen in connection with the killing of Bangladeshi activist Sharif Osman Hadi, The Hindu reported.
On March 7, the police had arrested two Bangladeshis, Rahul alias Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Hossain, near the Bongaon border area, on charges of illegally entering and staying in India.
The third man arrested on Saturday, Philip Sangma, had allegedly helped the two persons enter India illegally through the Haluaghat-Dalupara border area in exchange for money, according to the police.
Investigators said that Sangma later entered India to evade arrest in Bangladesh and travelled to several locations in the country, PTI reported.
He remained in contact with the other two men and was attempting to return to Bangladesh when he was apprehended, the news agency quoted an unidentified officer as saying.
“During initial interrogation, Philip Sangma admitted that he operates as a border tout and facilitates illegal migrants to cross the border,” The Hindu quoted the police as saying.
The police statement added that Sangma allegedly admitted to facilitating Masud and Hossain’s entry into India.
Sangma was produced before a court on Saturday and remanded to police custody for further investigation.
Hadi was a prominent leader in the 2024 student protest that led to the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government at the time.
He was shot on December 12 while he was leaving a mosque in Dhaka. He died on December 18 at a hospital in Singapore, where he had been flown for treatment.
Hadi’s death had led to unrest in parts of Bangladesh, during which the offices of newspapers The Daily Star and Prothom Alo were attacked.
The Bangladesh Police had at the time alleged that Masud and Hossain had crossed into Meghalaya with the help of Indian residents and had taken refuge there. India’s Border Security Force had, however, denied the claim.
The Bangladesh Police have claimed that Hadi was killed on the instructions of leaders linked to the Awami League and its student wing, the Chhatra League. It alleged that the killing was the result of “political vendetta”.
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