New Delhi/ Dhaka, Dec 23: India has partially suspended visa services from Bangladesh’s port city of Chittagong, signalling growing concern over deteriorating law and order following recent political violence.
The move followed nationwide protests over the killing of Sharif Osman Hadi, a 32-year-old youth leader linked to the 2024 student-led uprising. Hadi was shot in Dhaka on December 12 and later died in Singapore after being airlifted for treatment.
India’s Assistant High Commission in Chittagong halted operations citing security concerns after violent protests near its premises. In a reciprocal move, Bangladesh suspended consular and visa services at its High Commission in New Delhi, as well as in Agartala and Siliguri, citing “unavoidable circumstances.”
The unrest has included the lynching of a Hindu garment worker in Mymensingh, attacks on media institutions, and arson at buildings housing leading newspapers The Daily Star and Prothom Alo, which protesters accused of being aligned with India. Both newspapers have denied the allegation.
Protests have increasingly taken on anti-India overtones, including attempts to storm Indian diplomatic missions, prompting heightened security. Analysts say bilateral ties are now at one of their lowest points in years.
“This is a temporary setback, but it reflects deep concern in New Delhi,” said Sreeradha Datta of O.P. Jindal Global University, adding that normalcy may return only after elections.
Interim government head Muhammad Yunus described Hadi’s killing as a “premeditated attack by a powerful network seeking to derail national elections,” due in February. Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina accused the interim authorities of failing to control the violence.
India’s foreign ministry dismissed reports of a security breach at Bangladesh’s High Commission in New Delhi as “misleading propaganda,” but expressed concern over the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das. Bangladesh police said the assailants in Hadi’s killing remain at large and rejected claims they fled to India.
Analysts warn the widespread nature of the violence raises doubts over election security, with implications for regional stability and democratic norms in South Asia.
