Osman Hadi killing: Sheikh Hasina dismisses Dhaka’s India angle in leader’s murder as ‘baseless’

Sheikh Hasina

• Sheikh Hasina denies Awami League's involvement in Sharif Osman Hadi's killing
• Hasina blames lawlessness under interim govt for Hadi's assassination
• India rejects claims of involvement, calls for thorough investigation

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Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has rejected the accusation against her Awami League party of planning the killing of Bangladesh youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi last month.

The ousted Prime Minister, in an interview with NDTV, said the assassination was a direct result of lawlessness and electoral violence in Bangladesh under the interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.

"The killing of Sharif Osman Hadi was a tragic and reprehensible act that was the direct consequence of the lawlessness and electoral violence that have consumed Bangladesh under the interim government," she told the publication.

According to her, Dhaka’s move to link Hadi’s killing with India was a “deliberate and unfounded” attempt by “fundamentalist forces” to rebrand the Yunus administration’s failures as foreign conspiracies.

Hadi’s killing has triggered new political unrest in Bangladesh and exacerbated strains in ties with India, after sections alleged an Indian connection to the crime. Rejecting the claims as a “false narrative,” New Delhi has demanded a thorough investigation into the killing amid worsening bilateral relations.

Hasina, during the interaction, said that attempts to link the case to India are “deliberate and entirely baseless”. “They are driven by fundamentalist forces that thrive on hostility toward Bangladesh's closest ally and seek to recast internal governance failures as foreign conspiracies,” the ousted leader told NDTV.

“India is our closest ally, and our two countries have worked together over many decades to build trusted trade and diplomatic relations and ensure the stability of our region,” she said.

Hadi's party, meanwhile, has rejected the police chargesheet in his murder case and accused the state machinery of being involved in the killing.

Inquilab Moncho on Tuesday also warned that those who “have shed blood” may be forced to “take blood as well” if justice is not ensured, Bengali daily Prothom Alo reported.

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police's (DMP) Detective Branch on Tuesday pressed formal charges against 17 people, including prime suspect Faisal Karim Masud, in connection with the murder and said Hadi was killed due to "political vengeance" at the behest of Awami League-nominated ward councillor Taizul Islam Chowdhury Bappi.

Inquilab Moncho member secretary Abdullah al Jaber said "even a lunatic would not believe" the claim that Hadi was murdered merely on the instructions of a ward councillor, asserting that the party does not accept the chargesheet submitted by police.

He claimed that an entire "criminal syndicate", as well as the "state machinery", was involved in the killing.

“Until they are brought to justice, our struggle will not stop. Any charge sheet that does not include their names is not acceptable to us,” Jaber said after the conclusion of the party's ‘March for Justice’ programme.

Inqilab Moncho spokesperson Hadi, 32, rose to national prominence during the July-August 2024 mass protests that led to the fall of the Hasina-led government, was shot in the head on December 12 during an election campaign in Dhaka.

He was also a parliamentary candidate for the upcoming February 12 elections. Hadi was airlifted to Singapore for treatment, but died on December 18.