Osman Hadi Murder Case: Prime Accused Faisal Karim Masud Denies Involvement, Claims Jamaat-Shibir Responsible

New Delhi: The investigation into the killing of Bangladeshi political activist Sharif Osman Hadi has taken a new turn after one of the prime accused, Faisal Karim Masud, released a video message from Dubai denying any involvement in the crime.

Masud insisted that he had no role in the murder and claimed that the attack was carried out by members of Jamaat-Shibir. He explained that his association with Hadi was limited to business dealings and that donations he made in the past were for political reasons rather than personal ties.

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police has presented a different account. At a press briefing, Additional Commissioner SN Nazrul Islam stated that Masud and another suspect, Alamgir Sheikh, fled Bangladesh soon after the killing. According to police, the two crossed into India through the Haluaghat border in Mymensingh with the help of local associates. Once inside India, they were received by a man named Purti and later transported to Tura city in Meghalaya by a taxi driver identified as Sami. Informal reports suggest that both Purti and Sami have been detained by Indian authorities, though official confirmation is still awaited. Nazrul Islam added that Bangladesh is maintaining communication with India through formal and informal channels to secure the arrest and extradition of the suspects.

So far, eleven people have been arrested in connection with the case. However, confusion remains over reports of arrests in Meghalaya. The Director General of Police in Meghalaya, I Nongrang, clarified that no arrests have been made by their force despite claims in some Bangladeshi media outlets.

Sharif Osman Hadi, convenor of Inqilab Moncho, was a prominent figure in the July Uprising of 2024 that led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government. He was shot in the head by masked attackers on December 12 while travelling on a battery-powered rickshaw along Box Culvert Road in Dhaka. Two motorcycle-borne assailants opened fire before fleeing the scene. Hadi was flown to Singapore for treatment but died six days later. He had been preparing to contest the upcoming parliamentary elections in February, making his killing a politically sensitive event.

The murder sparked widespread unrest across Bangladesh. Demonstrators vandalised newspaper offices and set one ablaze. In the violence that followed, a Hindu worker named Dipu Chandra Das was brutally attacked, hanged from a tree and burnt in Bhaluka. 

Read More: Osman Hadi Murder Suspects Fled To India Via Meghalaya Border: Dhaka Police