'I Did Not Kill Osman Hadi': Faisal Karim Masud, Key Accused In Murder Of Anti-India Student Leader, Releases Video Message, Says He Is In Dubai

Dhaka: Key suspect in the murder of Bangladesh student leader Osman Hadi released a video message denying involvement in his killing. Faisal Karim Masud, in a video message, also claimed that he is currently in Dubai.

Masud's video soon went viral. Contradicting the claims of the Bangladesh police about his presence in India, Masud said, "I did not kill Hadi. My family and I are being implicated. I have come to Dubai to protect myself from the witch hunt."

He accused Jamaat of Hadi's murder. Masud said that the student leader was "a product of Jamaat" and he was killed by "Jamaati elements". He termed his ties with Hadi as purely professional.

Masud's Video Message:

In the video, Masud said that he met Hadi as the owner of an IT firm and made political donations to him in exchange for government contracts. Apart from Masud, Alamgir Sheikh is another accused in the case.

Earlier this week, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) claimed that the two key suspects in Hadi's murder escaped to India through the Meghalaya border after the attack. Briefing the media at the DMP Media Centre, Additional Commissioner SN Nazrul Islam said that Masud and Sheikh crossed into India via the Haluaghat border in Mymensingh with assistance from local contacts. Islam further stated that after entering Indian territory, they were allegedly received by an individual named Purti and later transported by a taxi driver, identified as Sami, to Tura city in Meghalaya.

Hadi was a prominent political leader and a vocal critic of India and the Awami League. He rose to prominence during last year’s student-led July Uprising that eventually led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government. After the movement, Hadi launched a new political platform, Inqilab Mancha, and was preparing to contest the parliamentary elections scheduled for February.

The student leader was shot in the head by unidentified assailants in Dhaka on December 12 and later succumbed to his injuries in Singapore. His killing sparked widespread unrest in the neighbouring country.