India Halts Visa Services in Chattogram Following Unrest Over Sharif Osman Hadi’s Death and Assaults on Its Mission in Bangladesh

On December 21, India halted visa operations at its mission in the Bangladeshi port city of Chattogram until further notice, as reported by media outlets. This decision follows a recent surge of unrest in the country following the death of well-known youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi.

His passing spurred violent incidents across Bangladesh, including attacks on the residence of the Assistant Indian High Commissioner in Chattogram on Thursday.

Hadi, a key figure in the student-led protests last year that resulted in the ousting of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government, was a candidate for the upcoming general elections scheduled for February 12.
He sustained a gunshot wound to the head from masked assailants on December 12 during an election campaign in the Bijoynagar area of central Dhaka and passed away while receiving treatment in Singapore on December 18.

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“Due to the recent security incident at the Assistant High Commission of India (AHCI) Chittagong, Indian visa operations at IVAC Chittagong (Chattogram) will remain suspended from 21/12/2025 until further notice,” stated the Indian Visa Application Centre (IVAC) in a brief announcement.

The decision to reopen the visa center will be communicated after an evaluation of the situation, the statement added. This measure took effect on Sunday.

Across Bangladesh, there are five IVAC facilities located in Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Chattogram, and Sylhet. An IVAC official informed PTI that the other four offices continued to operate as of Sunday.

On Thursday, India resumed operations at its visa application center in Dhaka after temporarily closing it due to heightened security concerns, but briefly shut down two similar facilities in Rajshahi and Khulna as anti-India protestors attempted to march towards the Indian missions there.

On Saturday, security was tightened at both the Indian Assistant High Commission office and the visa application center in Sylhet.

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These increased security measures were implemented to prevent any exploitation of the situation, according to Additional Deputy Commissioner (Media) of Sylhet Metropolitan Police, Saiful Islam, as reported by The Dhaka Tribune on Saturday.

Hadi, 32, was buried on Saturday under strict security measures beside the grave of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam near the Dhaka University mosque.

Funeral prayers saw attendance from tens of thousands, where crowds chanted anti-India slogans like “Delhi or Dhaka – Dhaka, Dhaka” and “brother Hadi’s blood will not be allowed to go in vain.” Earlier on December 17, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) summoned Bangladesh envoy Riaz Hamidullah to express strong concerns over certain extremist groups’ plans to instigate unrest around the Indian mission in Dhaka.

“We expect the interim government to ensure the safety of Missions and Posts in Bangladesh in accordance with its diplomatic obligations,” the statement noted.

The envoy was informed of India’s apprehensions regarding the deteriorating security situation in Bangladesh, it concluded.

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