The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) reportedly confirmed that the prime accused in the murder case of Sharif Osman Hadi has fled to India along with an associate. Two Indian nationals who aided their escape were arrested by the Meghalaya Police, the DMP added. Additional Commissioner S. N. Nazrul Islam on Sunday reportedly identified the arrested Indian nationals as Purti and Sami.
Hadi murder accused Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh fled Dhaka for Aminbazar in an auto-rickshaw, where a car was waiting to take them to Kalampur. According to a police official, another vehicle then took them to the Mymensingh border. It was here that Faisal and Alamgir were picked up by Philip Pal and Sanjay, who illegally smuggle people across the border. Mymensingh District in Bangladesh shares its border with India's northeastern states, primarily Meghalaya. It is reportedly home to the Haluaghat crossing point, which is a key illegal entry/exit point between the two countries.
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Crossing over to Meghalaya with the help of Pal, the duo met up with Purti at a place called Tura. Sami was the driver of the car which was used to transport Faisal and Alamgir, Prothom Alo quoted the Additional Commissioner as saying. However, it was not mentioned if the duo are still in Meghalaya or where they were taken by Sami.
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Additional Commissioner Nazrul reportedly added that a total of 11 people have been arrested so far in connection with the murder of Hadi. “Many of those behind the murder have been identified. For the sake of the investigation, all names cannot be disclosed. Based on the information received so far, it appears to be a political killing,” the DMP official reportedly said.
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Sharif Osman Hadi was a prospective candidate from the Dhaka-8 constituency. On 12 December, shortly after Friday prayers, the Inquilab Mancha leader was shot while he was riding in a rickshaw on Culvert Road in the capital’s Purana Paltan area. The assailants fled on a motorcycle after shooting him in the head from close range. Hadi was later taken to Singapore for advanced treatment, where he died on 18 December.