- Agartala assistant mission services also halted.
- Suspension remains until further official notice.
- Dhaka says closures due to “unavoidable circumstances”.
Bangladesh has suspended consular services and visa operations at its High Commission in India’s New Delhi, following a protest which Dhaka described as “unjustifiable” and “highly regrettable”.
In addition to suspending services at its High Commission in New Delhi, Bangladesh has also stopped consular services at the Assistant High Commission in Agartala, according to Bangladesh’s Dhaka Tribune.
The services will remain suspended until further notice by the Bangladeshi officials, the publication reported.
India’s ANI also reported a formal notice posted at the High Commission in Delhi regarding the closure.
“Due to unavoidable circumstances, all consular and visa services at the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi have been temporarily suspended until further notice,” the publication quoted the notice as saying.
The closure of the consular services comes following a protest held outside the Bangladesh HC under the banner of “Akhand Hindu Rashtra Sena”, which New Delhi said was against the killing of Dipu Chandra Das and for the protection of minorities in Bangladesh.
Das, a garment factory worker, was beaten to death on December 18 in Bangladesh’s Mymensingh, on allegations of blasphemy, after which his body was also set ablaze, reported Prothom Alo.
Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected India’s explanation, saying that the protest cannot be labelled “misleading propaganda”.
“The miscreants were allowed to carry out their activities right outside the perimeters of the HC, creating panic among the personnel inside the complex,” said Bangladesh’s foreign office.
Relations between the two nations worsened after the killing of prominent Bangladeshi student leader Sharif Osman Hadi.
Hadi, 32, was shot in the head by masked assailants in Dhaka while launching his campaign for the elections. He was a spokesperson for the Inquilab Mancha, or Platform for Revolution, and participated in the protests that overthrew Hasina.
Following his death, mobs attacked the Indian Assistant High Commission in Chittagong, as well as setting fire to multiple newspapers’ outlets in Dhaka, accusing them of favouring India, where Bangladesh’s ousted PM Sheikh Hasina has taken refuge since fleeing Dhaka in the wake of the 2024 uprising.
