DHAKA: Bangladeshi police say Faisal Karim Masud, identified as the gunman in the shooting of anti-India leader Sharif Osman bin Hadi, fled to neighbouring India shortly after the attack. Investigators believe his alleged accomplice, motorcycle driver Alamgir Sheikh, also crossed into India.
According to police sources cited by the Dhaka Tribune, the two men are suspected to have crossed the border illegally through the Haluaghat area of Mymensingh on Friday, just days after the December 12 shooting.
In response, Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned India’s High Commissioner to Dhaka, Pranay Verma, urging New Delhi to arrest and hand over the suspects if they are found on Indian soil.
Bangladeshi police say they have identified both suspects in Sharif Osman Hadi’s killing and believe they fled illegally to India, offering a reward of five million taka for information leading to their arrest.
Interim leader Muhammad Yunus has described the shooting as a premeditated attempt to derail February’s election, noting that Hadi had reported repeated death threats in the weeks before the attack.
Authorities say that on the day of the attack, Faisal and Alamgir travelled from Mirpur to Gazipur via Ashulia in a private car, before switching vehicles and heading towards a petrol pump in the Dharabazar area of Haluaghat. From there, a local individual allegedly transported them by motorcycle towards the border.
Police have yet to arrest the individual who escorted the suspects to the border area, though two people stationed nearby have been detained. Dhaka Metropolitan Police Additional Commissioner (Crime and Operations) SN Md Nazrul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune that two individuals were arrested in Nalitabari, Sherpur, on suspicion of facilitating illegal border crossings and are currently being interrogated.
Islam confirmed that Faisal Karim Masud was the person who fired the shot that critically wounded Hadi, while Alamgir Sheikh is described by police as an activist affiliated with the now-banned Chhatra League. Authorities have also arrested Md Abdul Hannan, the registered owner of the motorcycle used in the attack, and secured a three-day remand to question him about the logistics behind the escape.
Hannan told investigators he had previously bought the motorcycle from Mirpur Mazar Road but stopped using it due to illness, leaving it at his home before later selling it to a showroom. Police say they are examining how the motorcycle ultimately came to be used in the attack.
Who is Faisal Karim Masud?
Investigators say Faisal Karim Masud has long-standing ties to Chhatra League politics. He was named a member of the organisation’s central committee in May 2019 and later served on its election management and coordination committee for Bangladesh’s 11th National Parliamentary Election.
A LinkedIn profile under his name, confirmed by a former Dhaka Metropolitan North Chhatra League leader, lists him as the owner of three companies: Apple Soft IT, YCU Technology, and Enlist Work. According to the profile, Faisal earned a computer science degree in 2013 and later completed an MBA.
In 2016, one of his firms, YCU Technology Limited, developed a computer game titled Battle of 71, based on Bangladesh’s Liberation War and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The project was backed by the ICT Division and BASIS, with senior officials attending its launch.
Police sources say Faisal also participated alongside ruling party activists in suppressing protesters during the mass uprising of July 2024. In October last year, he was named the prime suspect in an armed robbery worth Tk1.7 million at a school in Dhaka’s Adabor area. He was arrested by the Rapid Action Battalion and later released on bail by the High Court in February.
While still on bail, Faisal is now accused of carrying out the shooting that killed Hadi.
What We Know About the Killing
Sharif Osman Hadi, a senior leader of the student protest platform Inqilab Mancha, was preparing to contest a parliamentary seat in the February 2026 national election. He was shot in the Box Culvert area of Purana Paltan when a masked assailant on a motorcycle fired at his head while he was travelling in a battery-powered rickshaw.
Hadi was later airlifted to Singapore for advanced medical treatment but died of his injuries on Thursday. Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said he succumbed despite the best efforts of doctors and confirmed it is assisting with the repatriation of his body.
Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus has described the attack as a premeditated act carried out by a powerful network aimed at destabilising the upcoming election. Police say Hadi had reported receiving repeated death threats in the weeks before the shooting.
Authorities have announced a reward of five million taka for information leading to the arrest of the suspects. Dhaka has also made clear that it will not accept any country becoming a “haven” for those accused of killing a political leader, as diplomatic pressure and public anger continue to grow over the case.
