Bangladesh Rejects India’s Response on Protest Outside Dhaka High Commission

Dhaka: Bangladesh on Monday strongly rejected India’s stance regarding a protest outside the Bangladesh High Commission (HC) in New Delhi, amid public uproar over the killing of prominent Bangladeshi student leader Sharif Osman Hadi.

Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the incident “unjustifiable” and “highly regrettable,” stating it could not be dismissed as “misleading propaganda,” as claimed by India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The foreign office said, “The miscreants were allowed to carry out their activities right outside the perimeters of the HC, creating panic among the personnel inside the complex.”

The protest in New Delhi was organized under the banner of “Akhand Hindu Rashtra Sena” and reportedly aimed at opposing the killing of Dipu Chandra Das, a Bangladeshi garment worker beaten to death on December 18 in Bhaluka, Mymensingh, over allegations of blasphemy. His body was also set on fire, according to Prothom Alo.

India’s MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the protest, which involved around 20–25 youths, posed no security breach and was quickly dispersed by police. He added that visual evidence was publicly available and reaffirmed India’s commitment to ensuring the safety of foreign missions under the Vienna Convention.

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However, Bangladesh officials countered that the demonstrators raised anti-Bangladesh slogans and threatened Bangladesh High Commissioner M Riaz Hamidullah. They also noted that the HC was not given prior notice of the “organized event.” The foreign office criticized India’s attempt to frame the incident as a broader attack on minorities, insisting it was instead targeted harassment of Bangladeshi officials and citizens.

The protest comes amid mass unrest in Bangladesh following the assassination of Sharif Osman Hadi, 32, a student leader and spokesperson for Inquilab Mancha (Platform for Revolution). Hadi was shot in the head by masked assailants while campaigning for elections, sparking protests across Dhaka, including attacks on the Indian Assistant High Commission in Chittagong and arson at several newspaper offices accused of pro-India bias.

The Bangladesh government continues to express outrage at the protests and reiterates that India’s depiction of the events does not reflect the severity and targeted nature of the incident.