Hasina death verdict: India vows constructive engagement as Dhaka seeks extradition

New Delhi, Nov 17: Hours after a special tribunal in Bangladesh sentenced ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death, India, on Monday, said it had taken note of the verdict and would continue to engage constructively with all stakeholders in the interest of peace, democracy and stability in the neighbouring country.

“India has noted the verdict announced by the ‘International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh’ concerning former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. As a close neighbour, India remains committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including in peace, democracy, inclusion and stability in that country,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement, on Monday.

“We will always engage constructively with all stakeholders to that end,” it added.

Earlier in the day, Bangladesh’s interim government urged India to immediately extradite Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, hours after both were sentenced to death in absentia for “crimes against humanity” linked to last year’s student uprising.

“We urge the Indian government to immediately hand over these two convicted individuals to the Bangladeshi authorities,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement, according to state-run BSS news agency.

It added that the bilateral extradition agreement between the two countries makes their transfer a “compulsory responsibility” for New Delhi and warned that granting shelter to individuals convicted of such crimes would be considered an “unfriendly” act and a disregard for justice.

Hasina has been living in India since August 5 last year, when she fled Bangladesh amid massive protests that eventually led to the toppling of her government. She was later declared a fugitive by the court. Kamal is also believed to be in India.

Bangladesh had earlier sent India a note verbale in December last year requesting Hasina’s extradition. India acknowledged receipt of the diplomatic communication but did not comment further.

The Foreign Ministry reiterated, on Monday, that handing over the two convicts is a “mandatory obligation for India” under the extradition treaty.

Separately, Legal Adviser Asif Nazrul told the country’s press that the interim government would write to India again to pursue Hasina’s extradition.

“If India continues to shelter this mass murderer, then India must understand that it is an act of hostility…,” Nazrul was quoted as saying by the Bangla-language daily Prothom Alo.

He described the death sentence handed to Hasina as the “greatest event of establishing justice on the soil of Bangladesh.”

Meanwhile, former premier Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) criticised India for sheltering what it called a “fugitive” Hasina.

“India has given shelter to a fugitive criminal. But the country is giving her the chance to do sabotage against Bangladesh, and this is not a lawful behaviour from India. This is very unfortunate,” BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi was quoted as saying by The Daily Star.

PTI