India on Sunday suspended visa processing operations at the Indian Visa Application Centre in Chittagong, Bangladesh, following heightened tensions prevailing in the country after the death of its student leader, Sharif Osman Hadi, local media reported.
The visa applications have been suspended indefinitely from December 21 until further notice, the Indian Visa Application Centre (IVAC) was quoted as saying by a Dhaka-based newspaper on Sunday. It said a further announcement regarding the reopening of the visa application centre would be made after a review of the security situation.
The decision is said to have come into effect following a recent security incident at the Assistant High Commission of India in Chittagong. As a result, security was tightened at the Indian Assistant High Commission office and the visa application centre in Sylhet, another city in Bangladesh.
Mob violence, incidents of arson and the lynching of a Hindu man have been reported in recent days after the killing of Hadi, who was shot in the head on December 12 by masked gunmen during an election campaign in Bijoynagar area, central Dhaka. Hadi died while undergoing treatment in Singapore on Thursday, and was laid to rest on Saturday in a funeral attended by thousands.
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He was a prominent student leader who had led protests in the country last year that led to the ouster of the then prime minister, Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government.
Hadi was scheduled to contest in the upcoming general elections in Bangladesh that have been scheduled for February 12.
Meanwhile, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Media) of the Sylhet Metropolitan Police, Saiful Islam, was quoted by a Bangladeshi newspaper as saying that the security measures put in place at the Indian Assistant High Commission office were to ensure that “no third party can exploit the situation”.
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