India has not yet responded to Bangladesh’s request to return Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Hossain, the two main accused in the murder of Inquilab Mancha spokesperson Sharif Osman bin Hadi. The National Central Bureau of Bangladesh Police sent a letter to the Indian Police Service on March 16, but no reply has been received. Authorities are now preparing to send a second letter and are also pursuing the matter through diplomatic channels. Police said the two countries have a prisoner exchange agreement under which the suspects could be repatriated.

The suspects were arrested by West Bengal’s Special Task Force on March 8 from the Bongaon border area after allegedly entering India illegally following Hadi’s killing. Indian media later reported that they were handed over to the National Investigation Agency and taken to Delhi under transit remand. Bangladeshi investigators have already arrested 12 people in connection with the case but have yet to capture five others, including the two in India.

Police fear that the delay in returning the suspects may slow progress in identifying the masterminds behind Hadi’s murder, which drew widespread attention at home and abroad.