Shillong, Dec 29: Security agencies in Meghalaya on December 28 rejected claims by the Bangladesh Police that the killers of Inquilab Moncho leader Sharif Osman Hadi had crossed into the state, terming the allegations baseless and misleading.
Inspector General O P Opadhyay, head of the Border Security Force (BSF) in Meghalaya, said there was no evidence of any illegal cross-border movement from the Haluaghat sector into the state.
“There is no evidence to suggest that any individual crossed the international border from the Haluaghat sector into Meghalaya.
The BSF has neither detected nor received any report of such an incident,” he said, dismissing the claims as unfounded.
Earlier in the day, a senior officer of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police had alleged that two prime suspects in the murder had entered Meghalaya through the Haluaghat border with the help of local associates, triggering heightened vigilance along the international boundary.
A senior Meghalaya Police official also rejected the allegation, stating that there was “no input or intelligence to corroborate” claims that the suspects were present in the Garo Hills region.
Local police units had not detected any such movement, the officer said, adding that coordination with central security agencies was ongoing.
BSF officials said personnel deployed along the international border remained on high alert, particularly in view of the volatile situation in neighbouring Bangladesh.
They reiterated that the western sector of Meghalaya, including the Garo Hills region, was under round-the-clock surveillance and any attempt at illegal crossing would be promptly detected and dealt with.
Sharif Osman Hadi, 32, was shot in the head on December 12 during an election campaign in Dhaka.
He was airlifted to Singapore for advanced medical treatment but succumbed to his injuries on December 18. A spokesperson of Inquilab Moncho, Hadi had emerged as a prominent youth leader during the July–August 2024 mass street protests that led to the fall of the Awami League government headed by Sheikh Hasina.
He was also a parliamentary candidate for the February 12 elections. Meghalaya shares a long and sensitive international border with Bangladesh, which is guarded by the BSF.
