India closely watching situation in Bangladesh, calls for action against killers of Hindu youth

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, December 22, 2025: India is closely monitoring the situation in Bangladesh and has called for strict punishment of those responsible for the barbaric killing of a youth in the neighbouring country over an alleged “insulting” remark about Islam, an allegation that was later found to be false during a law-enforcement investigation.

On Sunday, New Delhi also suspended the operations of a visa application receiving and processing facility in Chittagong, Bangladesh, following violent protests near the Indian Assistant High Commission in the port city over the murder of radical leader Sharif Osman Hadi.

Hadi’s death triggered radical organisations in Bangladesh to intensify campaigns over the past few days against former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, her Awami League party, and India, particularly in Khulna and Rajshahi. However, the visa facility in Bangladesh’s capital later resumed operations.

After Hadi, spokesperson of the Inquilab Manch, succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Singapore on December 18, violent protests erupted across Bangladesh. During the unrest, mobs set fire to newspaper offices and vandalised cultural institutions. Amid the violence, Dipu Chandra Das (25), a member of the minority Hindu community, was brutally killed at Bhaluka in the Mymensingh Division. Das, a garment factory worker, was accused of making a blasphemous remark about Islam. He was reportedly hanged upside down from a tree and burned alive. A video of the gruesome killing went viral on social media.

“India continues to keep a close watch on the evolving situation in Bangladesh,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in New Delhi on Sunday. “Our officials are in constant touch with the authorities in Bangladesh and have conveyed our strong concerns over the attacks on minorities. We have also urged that the perpetrators of the barbaric killing of Dipu Chandra Das be brought to justice.”

Meanwhile, a group of 20–25 people staged a protest outside the High Commission of Bangladesh in New Delhi, condemning the atrocities against minority Hindus in the neighbouring country. India has been raising this issue in its engagements with Bangladesh’s interim government since the collapse of the Awami League government led by Sheikh Hasina in August 2024.

“There was no attempt to breach the fence or create any security situation. Police at the spot dispersed the group within a few minutes. Visual evidence of these events is publicly available,” Jaiswal said, dismissing what he described as misleading reports in certain Bangladeshi media outlets.

He added that India remains committed to ensuring the safety of foreign missions on its soil in accordance with the Vienna Convention.

In Dhaka, a radical organisation named “July Oikya Mancha” held a protest march near India’s diplomatic mission on December 17, demanding that India hand over deposed former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and former interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal. A Dhaka court on November 17 had awarded the death sentence to both for “crimes against humanity” linked to the police crackdown on student and youth protests against job reservation policies in July–August 2024, which ultimately led to the fall of the Awami League government.

Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to India, Riaz Hamidullah, was summoned to the MEA headquarters in New Delhi, where senior officials conveyed India’s “strong concerns” over the deteriorating security situation in Bangladesh.

Following the attack on Hadi, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh’s interim government led by Muhammad Yunus accused Sheikh Hasina and other Awami League leaders of orchestrating terrorist activities in Bangladesh from Indian territory. Dhaka alleged that India was being used for activities detrimental to Bangladesh’s interests. India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Pranay Verma, was summoned to the Bangladeshi foreign ministry on December 14.

Dhaka also conveyed its “serious concern” to New Delhi over Sheikh Hasina’s continued public statements, alleging that they were encouraging her supporters to resort to violence and disrupt the parliamentary elections scheduled in Bangladesh for February 2026.