The West Bengal Police’s Special Task Force (STF) has arrested a person in India in connection with the murder of Inquilab Manch spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi. It is alleged that he helped the two main accused in the case escape from Bangladesh.
Indian media reports said that Philip Sangma was arrested early Saturday morning from an area adjacent to the Shantipur bypass in West Bengal’s Nadia district based on confidential information. According to investigators, he had been involved in illegal border crossings for money for a long time.
Initial police interrogation revealed that Philip Sangma, a resident of Haluaghat, Mymensingh, is suspected of helping Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Hossain, the main accused in the Hadi murder case, to leave the country.
Indian investigators claim that Sangma fled to India via the border as police activity in Bangladesh increased after the murder. While there, he was in contact with the two accused and was planning to return to Bangladesh.
The STF said that after being produced in court, he was taken into police custody for further questioning.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata has sent a diplomatic note to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs seeking permission to meet Philip Sangma. A similar request was made earlier in the case of arrested Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Hossain. However, no official response has been received from India yet.
Sharif Osman Hadi was shot while riding a rickshaw on Calvert Road in Dhaka’s Paltan area on December 12 last year. He was later taken to Singapore for treatment, where he died on December 18.
Police have said that at least 12 people have been arrested in Bangladesh so far in the Hadi murder case.