TDS Desk:

India’s West Bengal Police Special Task Force (STF) has arrested Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Hossain, the main suspects in the killing of Inqilab Mancha spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi.

The duo were arrested near the Bongaon border area for illegally entering and staying in India, Indian news agency ANI reported today (8 March), citing a press statement of STF in a post on X.

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Preliminary interrogation revealed that after committing the murder of Hadi, they illegally entered Indian territory through Meghalaya border and moved through different places in India and finally, came to Bongaon, West Bengal, with the intention of crossing back into Bangladesh, the STF said in the statement.

“There was secret credible information that two Bangladeshi nationals, after committing serious crimes including extortion and murder in Bangladesh, had fled their country and illegally entered India, and were trying to take shelter in the border area of Bongaon with the intention of crossing back into Bangladesh when an opportunity arises,” reads the statement.

“Acting on this information, a raid was conducted, and two Bangladeshi nationals were intercepted, namely Rahul alias Faisal Karim Masud, 37, resident of Patuakhali, Bangladesh, and Alamgir Hossain, 34, resident of Dhaka, Bangladesh from the area of Bongaon in the intervening night of 7/8-03-2026.”

The STF further stated that a case has been filed in connection with the incident and the duo were placed in police custody for interrogation after being produced before a court today.

On 12 December at around 2:20pm, assailants on a motorcycle opened fire on Hadi, leaving him critically injured with gunshot wounds to the head and below the right ear.

He was initially taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and later shifted to Evercare Hospital, Dhaka. As his condition worsened, he was flown to Singapore by air ambulance on 15 December for advanced treatment. He died there on 18 December, about a week later, while undergoing treatment.

Following the shooting, a case was with the Paltan Police Station on 14 December on charges of attempted murder, which was later converted into a murder case after Hadi’s death.

Law enforcement agencies have identified Faisal as the shooter in the attack on Hadi. Police and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) said Faisal’s associate, Alamgir Hossain, was riding the motorcycle used in the attack.

On 6 January, police submitted a charge sheet against 17 accused. So far, 12 people have been shown arrested in connection with the case.