Anti-India Protests Trigger Visa Suspension by Bangladesh

• By Thetripurapost Desk, Dhaka
• Dec 22, 2025
• 580

The Bangladesh High Commission in India has temporarily suspended all visa and consular services, citing security concerns amid escalating diplomatic and communal tensions. According to official sources, the suspension will remain in force until further notice. Earlier, the Bangladesh Consulate in Agartala had also halted visa operations following protests outside the High Commission premises on Saturday.

Simultaneously, Bangladesh’s Home Ministry dismissed speculation that the prime accused in the murder of student leader Osman Hadi had fled to India. Inspector General of Police Rafiqul Islam confirmed that authorities possess no verified information regarding the whereabouts of the main suspect, Faisal Karim Masood, despite unsubstantiated claims that he sought refuge across the border.

In a parallel development, India on Sunday suspended visa services at its Assistant High Commission in Chittagong, citing deteriorating security conditions in the wake of violent anti-India demonstrations. On Thursday, a mob attacked the residence of the Indian Assistant High Commissioner in Chittagong, pelting stones and raising incendiary slogans. Similar protests were reported outside Indian diplomatic establishments in Khulna, Rajshahi, and Dhaka.

Meanwhile, demonstrators gathered outside the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi on Saturday night to protest the killing of a Hindu youth in Bangladesh. India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, described the protest as limited in scale and entirely peaceful, asserting that it posed no threat to the mission’s security. He also accused certain Bangladeshi media outlets of amplifying the incident through misleading narratives, noting that only 20 to 25 individuals were present.

Dhaka, however, strongly rejected India’s characterization of events. Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Adviser, M. Touhid Hossain, contended that New Delhi had downplayed the gravity of the situation and questioned how a group of merely 25 to 30 people could gain access to a highly secured diplomatic zone without tacit facilitation. He maintained that the demonstrations extended beyond condemnation of a single killing and that Bangladeshi media reports were neither exaggerated nor deceptive.

Adding a dramatic political dimension, former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina accused interim government chief Muhammad Yunus of enabling a surge in anti-India sentiment by empowering extremist elements. In an email interview with ANI, Hasina alleged that radical forces—emboldened under Yunus’s leadership—were orchestrating attacks on embassies, media institutions, and religious minorities.

“This hostility does not originate from ordinary citizens,” Hasina asserted. “It is being fomented by fundamentalist groups who have attacked diplomatic missions, assaulted minorities, and forced my family and me to flee for our lives.” She said India’s concerns over the safety of its diplomats were “entirely justified,” accusing the interim administration of installing radicals in positions of authority and releasing convicted militants from prison.

Hasina further criticized the government’s failure to uphold its international obligations, stating that a responsible state must safeguard foreign missions and prosecute those who threaten them. “Instead, these elements are being given a free hand and celebrated as warriors,” she said.

Meanwhile, outrage continues to mount within Bangladesh’s minority communities following the brutal killing of 25-year-old Hindu youth Dipu Chandra Das. Hindu organizations and minority rights groups staged protests outside the National Press Club in Dhaka, warning that the country’s communal fabric is rapidly unraveling. Protesters claimed that religious minorities are increasingly harassed merely for their identity, with symbols such as the sacred thread now being viewed with suspicion and derided as markers of “foreign agents.”

Demonstrators alleged that more than 50 non-Muslims have been killed since January, with many falsely implicated in blasphemy cases. They noted that December—a month historically associated with national pride and liberation—has already seen the deaths of at least five minorities.

According to the protesters, Dipu Das was falsely accused of blasphemy, brutally assaulted by extremists, suspended from a tree, and set ablaze. “This was not merely a murder,” they said. “It was a message of terror directed at the entire minority community.” They further criticized the government’s silence and the lack of sustained media attention following the incident.

Investigations have since contradicted claims that Das had posted offensive content on social media. Mohammad Shamsuzzaman, Company Commander of Bangladesh’s Rapid Action Battalion, told The Daily Star that no evidence had been found linking Das to any blasphemous Facebook activity. Twelve individuals have so far been arrested in connection with the killing.

Das, a textile factory worker in Bhaluka near Dhaka, was murdered outside his workplace. Authorities confirmed that neither local residents nor co-workers had reported any religiously offensive behavior by the victim.

A BBC Bangla investigation revealed that Das was stripped, hanged from a tree, and burned alive, with videos circulating online showing attackers chanting religious slogans during the act.

In a separate incident underscoring the climate of fear, a Hindu rickshaw puller, Govinda Biswas, was assaulted by a mob in the western district of Jhenaidah on Friday, allegedly for wearing a sacred thread. Rumors quickly spread accusing him of links to India’s intelligence agency, R&AW, triggering a violent attack reportedly involving local clerics.

The assault occurred near the Metropolitan Police Office. Police intervened, removed Biswas from the mob, and later released him safely after his mother arrived at the station. His rickshaw was recovered in a subsequent operation.

Collectively, these incidents paint a deeply troubling picture of rising extremism, diplomatic strain, and a rapidly shrinking space for religious minorities in Bangladesh—raising urgent questions about governance, accountability, and regional stability.