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Meghalaya Police, BSF dismiss ‘false narrative’ of Bangladeshi murder suspects entering state
A top official at the Meghalaya Police headquarters rejected claims that two accused in the murder of Osman Hadi had fled into India from Bangladesh’s Haluaghat border.
False and fabricated narratives emerging from sections of Bangladesh media are creating confusion among its citizens and risks disturbing the peace and tranquillity of Meghalaya, a sensitive border state that routinely deals with skirmishes and transborder crimes, senior security officials said on Sunday.
A top official at the Meghalaya Police headquarters rejected claims by the neighbouring country that two accused in the murder of Osman Hadi — Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh — had fled into India from Bangladesh’s Haluaghat border in Mymensingh district and were currently present in the Indian state.
The claim, carried by a prominent Bangladeshi daily quoting Dhaka Metropolitan Police officials, was termed “untruthful” and “completely false”.
“No formal or informal communication has been received from Bangladesh police. None of the accused named in the report have been traced in Garo Hills, and no arrests have been made,” the senior police official told HT over the phone.
The report had alleged that the two accused were assisted by local facilitators — Purti, who was claimed to have received them after the alleged crossing, and Sami, described as a taxi driver who supposedly transported them to Tura.
Meghalaya Police dismissed these assertions outright, stating that no intelligence input, ground verification or operational evidence exists to support the alleged crossing or the roles attributed to Purti and Sami.
“Neither Purti nor Sami has been identified, traced or arrested anywhere in Meghalaya. The narrative appears to have been constructed without verification or coordination with Indian authorities,” the PHQ official said.
Backing the police position, Border Security Force (Meghalaya Frontier) Inspector General OP Upadhayay strongly refused the claims and said, “There is no evidence whatsoever of these individuals crossing the international border from the Haluaghat sector into Meghalaya. No such incident has been detected or reported by the BSF. These claims are baseless and misleading,” Upadhayay said, adding that the BSF operates strictly on verified intelligence and established border management protocols.
Officials noted that this was not an isolated incident of misinformation. About two weeks ago, a similar fabricated report in Bangladeshi media had alleged that the BSF shot dead two Bangladeshi infiltrators — a claim that was later categorically denied by Indian authorities after verification.
Despite rejecting the present allegations, Meghalaya Police said border vigilance has been stepped up as a precautionary measure, with intelligence sources activated and close coordination maintained with the BSF to prevent any possible misuse of border routes by criminal elements.
“Enhanced security is a standard preventive step and should not be misconstrued as confirmation of false claims,” a police headquarter official said.
Both Meghalaya Police and the BSF reiterated that they remain open to cooperation with Bangladesh authorities, but stressed that action will be taken only on verified information shared through established formal channels, underscoring that narratives cannot substitute facts.
