The Border Security Force (BSF) has refuted claims circulating in Bangladeshi media that two individuals accused in the murder of student leader Sharif Osman Hadi had crossed into India. Inspector General OP Upadhyay, the BSF chief in Meghalaya, has dismissed these reports as "false and fabricated," asserting that there is no evidence to support such claims.

The reports in question, which originated from the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), alleged that Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh, prime suspects in Hadi's murder, had entered the Indian state of Meghalaya via the Haluaghat border with assistance from local associates. These reports further stated that the suspects were initially received by an individual named Purti and subsequently transported to Tura city in Meghalaya by a taxi driver named Sami.

IG Upadhyay, however, firmly denied these assertions, stating that the BSF has neither detected nor received any reports of such cross-border movement. He highlighted the implausibility of individuals crossing the border from a location nearly 300 km from Dhaka without detection, given the extensive CCTV surveillance and checkpoints in place within Bangladesh. He also noted that the Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB), a highly professional force, has not reported any such incident.

Adding to the contradiction, Upadhyay pointed out that Bangladeshi media outlets had previously quoted an IG-rank officer stating that no such evidence of border crossing existed. The BSF official further stated that reports alleging the Meghalaya Police apprehended the individuals were false after verification with the police.

A senior Meghalaya police officer also stated that there was no intelligence to corroborate the claim of the suspects' presence in the Garo Hills region.

Sharif Osman Hadi, a key figure in the Inqilab Moncho and a prominent youth leader, was assassinated on December 12 during an election rally in Dhaka and died on December 18 while receiving treatment in Singapore. His murder has triggered widespread protests and violence in Bangladesh, especially against minorities, in the lead up to the general election scheduled for February 12.

BSF sources from Meghalaya, where the agency guards a 443km stretch of the India-Bangladesh border, are on high alert to prevent any cross-border movement due to the unrest in Bangladesh. On Saturday, the DMP said that 10 people had been arrested in connection to Hadi's murder. The Inqilab Moncho staged widespread blockades in Bangladesh on Sunday demanding justice for Hadi.