Two prime suspects in the murder of Bangladeshi political activist Osman Hadi have reportedly fled to India through the Meghalaya border, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) said, according to reports by The Daily Star and Prothom Alo.

At a press briefing, DMP Additional Commissioner SN Nazrul Islam said the suspects, Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh, crossed into India via the Haluaghat border in Mymensingh with the help of local associates. “After crossing into India, they were initially received by an individual named Purti. Later, a taxi driver, Sami, transported them to Tura city in Meghalaya,” he added.

Police have received informal reports that both Purti and Sami have been detained by authorities in India, though official confirmation is awaited.

Bangladesh is in communication with Indian agencies through formal and informal channels to ensure the arrest and extradition of the two main suspects in Hadi's killing.

Osman Hadi, a prominent political figure and vocal critic of both India and the Awami League, was shot in the head by masked assailants in Dhaka on December 12. He was flown to Singapore for treatment but succumbed to his injuries six days later.

Hadi had been among the leaders of last year’s violent student-led July Uprising, which contributed to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government. Before his death, he had launched a political platform, Inqilab Mancha, and was preparing to contest the parliamentary elections scheduled for February.

His killing triggered widespread unrest in Dhaka and other parts of Bangladesh. Mob violence followed, including attacks on offices of newspapers Prothom Alo and The Daily Star, as well as cultural organisations such as Chhayanat and Udichi Shilpi Goshthi. The unrest also spread to central Bangladesh, where a Hindu factory worker was lynched in Mymensingh.