Osman Hadi murder: Faisal Karim denies involvement

A court in India’s West Bengal has sent the prime accused in the Shaheed Sharif Osman Hadi murder case, Faisal Karim Masud, along with his associate Alamgir Hossain, to jail after police interrogation.

Faisal Karim claimed in court that he was not involved in the killing of Osman Hadi.

Faisal and Alamgir were detained on 8 March from the Bongaon area near the West Bengal–Bangladesh border by the Special Task Force (STF) of West Bengal Police. After being arrested on charges of illegal entry, the two were taken on a 14-day remand for questioning.

Following the interrogation, the duo was produced in the Bidhannagar Sub-Divisional Judicial Court in North 24 Parganas district on Sunday.

The court ordered 12 days of judicial custody for them. They are scheduled to be produced in court again on 2 April. Before being taken to court, both underwent medical examinations conducted by Bidhannagar Police.

When journalists questioned Faisal in court about the Osman Hadi murder in Bangladesh, he said, “I did not do this. I was not involved in such acts.”

When asked whether he had been framed, Faisal avoided answering.

However, according to STF sources, both Faisal and Alamgir confessed during interrogation to their involvement in the killing of Osman Hadi in Dhaka.

Sharif Osman Hadi, convener of the Inquilab Moncho, was shot in Dhaka on 12 December last year.

During the investigation, the name of former leader of the banned organisation Bangladesh Chhatra League, Faisal Karim, emerged. Intelligence officials said that Faisal and Alamgir were on the motorcycle used in the shooting.

Bangladeshi authorities had earlier said that immediately after the incident, the two fled to India through the Haluaghat border in Mymensingh. Nearly three months later, on 8 March, West Bengal Police confirmed their arrest from the Bongaon border area.

According to the STF, Faisal and Alamgir had fled to Bongaon in West Bengal and were trying to find an opportunity to return to Bangladesh when they were arrested based on intelligence information.

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said the process of bringing the two arrested individuals back to Bangladesh has already begun.

After being shot, Osman Hadi was taken to Singapore for advanced treatment, where he died on 18 December.

Following the murder, Abdullah Al Jaber, member secretary of Inquilab Moncho, filed a case. After investigation, Detective Branch police submitted a charge sheet against 17 people on 6 January. Of them, 12 have been arrested in Bangladesh. Besides Faisal and Alamgir in India, another person who helped them flee has also been detained.