- Thousands of people under Inqilab Manch banner block Shahbagh intersection and continue to protest in Dhaka, demanding arrest of Sharif Osman Bin Hadi's killer and accomplices

DHAKA, Bangladesh

The main shooter and his accomplice in the killing of Bangladeshi political activist and 2024 uprising figure Sharif Osman Bin Hadi fled to India, Dhaka police said Sunday, adding that Indian police arrested two people for allegedly assisting their border crossing.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Additional Commissioner SN Nazrul Islam shared the updates at a news conference in the capital, Dhaka, and said that two Indian nationals who assisted the alleged killers in fleeing and crossing the border were apprehended by police in the northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya.

Hadi, 32, a political activist known for his strong stance against Indian "imperialism," was shot on Dec. 12 and later died at a hospital in Singapore on Dec. 18.

Hundreds of thousands of people attended the funeral of Hadi, who was an aspirant for the Dhaka-8 constituency in the February 2026 election, which was held before the national parliament in Dhaka on Dec. 20.

The additional commissioner said the shooter, Faisal Karim Masud, and his accomplice, Alamgir Sheikh, fled to India. Two Bangladeshi nationals and two Indian nationals, Purti and Sami, assisted them in crossing the border from the Indian side.

Nazrul Islam claimed that the murder of Inqilab Manch convener Hadi was premeditated.

Following the shooting, Faisal and Alamgir traveled by car to Mymensingh, a Bangladeshi city on the Indian border. They were assisted by two Bangladeshi men, Philip Pal and Sanjay, in illegally crossing the border. Philip later took the two to Meghalaya, an Indian state, according to the official.

Then Philip took Faisal and Alamgir to a place called Tura in India. He handed over the two to Purti, an Indian citizen. Later, they fled in the car of a man named Sami, Nazrul Islam said.

Dhaka police have arrested 11 people in connection with the Hadi murder case, and the investigation is nearing completion, he said, adding that the charge sheet in this case will be filed within the next seven to 10 days after they find the people responsible for the murder.

Meanwhile, thousands of people under the banner of Inqilab Manch blocked the Shahbagh intersection and continued to protest in Dhaka, demanding the arrest of the killer and accomplices and justice for the late political activist.

They criticized India for allowing killers to roam free and for letting ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and thousands of her Awami League party supporters to live there.

Hasina fled India on August 5, during the height of the mass uprising. According to the UN, the Hasina government's brutal response to the uprising killed about 1400 people and injured thousands more.

Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal in Dhaka convicted Hasina of crimes against humanity and sentenced her to death in absentia.