One of the two main suspects in the murder of Sharif Osman Hadi, a prominent youth leader in Bangladesh, has denied any involvement in the crime, claiming that he is currently residing in Dubai.
In an undated video message, Faisal Karim Masud accused Jamaat-Shibir of being responsible for Hadi's killing and stated that his relationship with the Inquilab Moncho leader was solely based on business interests.
Masud admitted that he had made donations to Hadi's party but clarified that these were in exchange for promises of government contracts, not for any illegal actions.
The video emerged on social media on Tuesday, just a day after Bangladesh police claimed that Masud and another suspect, Alamgir Sheikh, had escaped to the Indian state of Meghalaya. They alleged that the suspects crossed the Haluaghat border with the assistance of local accomplices.
The Border Security Force (BSF) and the Meghalaya Police have rejected these allegations as baseless and misleading. A senior officer from the Meghalaya Police further stated that there was "no input or intelligence to corroborate" the claim that the suspects were in the Garo Hills region.
The Garo Hills region falls under Meghalaya's western sector, which shares an international border with Bangladesh and is guarded by the BSF.
Hadi, 32, was shot in the head on December 12 while participating in an election campaign in Dhaka. He was airlifted to Singapore for specialized treatment but succumbed to his injuries on December 18.
His murder has sparked a fresh wave of protests and violence in Bangladesh, which has already been in deep turmoil since the youth uprising in July 2024 that resulted in the ousting of the Sheikh Hasina government.