Faisal Karim Masud, the prime accused in the murder of Shahid Sharif Osman Hadi, and his associate Alamgir Hossain were sent to jail by a West Bengal court after police interrogation. Faisal denied involvement in the killing during a court appearance following their arrest near the India-Bangladesh border in Bongaon on March 8. The Special Task Force (STF) had detained them for alleged illegal entry and questioned them for 14 days before presenting them to the Bidhannagar Sub-Divisional Judicial Court, which ordered 12 days of judicial custody. They are scheduled to appear again on April 2.

According to STF sources, both Faisal and Alamgir admitted during interrogation to their role in the Dhaka murder of Osman Hadi, who was shot on December 12 last year. Hadi, convener of the Inquilab Mancha, later died in Singapore on December 18. Bangladeshi investigators had earlier linked Faisal, a former leader of a banned student organization, to the attack.

Bangladesh’s Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed stated that efforts are underway to bring the two detainees back to Bangladesh for further legal proceedings.