Our Bureau
Jammu
Former Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police SP Vaid on Wednesday said that India’s stance on ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is very clear, and it is not going to extradite Hasina to Dhaka, adding that Muhammad Yunus, who heads the Bangladesh interim government, is playing “cheap politics”.
Vaid said, “Muhammad Yunus is playing cheap politics. He wanted to corner India. Tomorrow, when the new government comes, and Muhammad Yunus flees from Bangladesh, how will he feel if an absentia trial is conducted against him for all those killings which radicals have committed against the minority community? How will he feel if he is not given a chance to defend himself, and is awarded murder and hanging as a punishment?”
Vaid said that the neighbouring country should give Hasina a fair chance to defend herself.
“India is not going to extradite (Sheikh Hasina). India’s policy is very clear. Give her a fair chance to defend herself, and then we will take care of it,” he added.
Meanwhile, Riva Ganguly Das, Former High Commissioner to Bangladesh, reacted to the death sentence awarded to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for “crimes against Humanity” and said that “nothing was surprising” about the verdict because the “whole process has been designed” in such a way.
“I think there was no surprise in the verdict which was given. It was quite expected that this was the way the verdict would go because the whole process has been designed in such a way, and given the political atmosphere in Bangladesh, I think there’s nothing surprising about the verdict. In fact, if she had not been given this verdict, we would have been a little surprised…”
She also spoke on India’s position with respect to the verdict and noted the “precarious situation” in the wake of incidents of violence reported in the last few days.
“We have to watch the situation very carefully. You would have seen that since the verdict was announced, two bulldozers moved in the direction of 32 Dhanmondi, which was where Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated… Who are these people who are bringing these bulldozers and trying to flatten 32 Dhanmondi… The situation is extremely precarious because for the last few days, many incidents of violence, arson have been reported. I think under this situation, we have to watch very carefully what’s happening in our neighbourhood.”
Moreover, West Bengal Leader of Opposition and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Monday alleged that the death sentence awarded to former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was “done on the orders of Pakistan”. Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced by a Bangladesh court to death for “crimes against humanity”.
Suvendu Adhikari said, “This has been done on Pakistan’s orders. It will not be implemented. Sheikh Hasina may be from another country, but she is linked with the culture of the Bengalis. She is a progressive Muslim. Sheikh Hasina was not associated with extremists.”
Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday appealed to India to immediately extradite Hasina and the country’s former home minister, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal.
Bangladesh claimed India was obliged to do so under an extradition treaty.
The Ministry of External Affairs on Monday said that India has taken note of the verdict announced by the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh concerning former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and said that India remains committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh.
MEA underlined that India will always engage constructively with all stakeholders.
A Bangladesh court on Monday found ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina guilty of committing “crimes against humanity” during the July-August uprising in 2024. Local media reported that the International Crimes Tribunal-1 has sentenced Hasina to death.
