Bangladesh suspends consular and visa services in Delhi as ties sour

• Agartala dispatch helper services also stopped.
• The suspension remains until further notice.
• Dhaka says it is closing due to “unavoidable circumstances”.
  

Bangladesh has suspended consular services and visa-issuing operations at its High Commission in New Delhi, India, following a protest that Dhaka called “unwarranted” and “very regrettable”.

In addition to suspending services at its High Commission in New Delhi, Bangladesh also suspended consular services at the Assistant High Commission in Agartala, according to Bangladesh Dhaka Tribune.

Services will remain suspended until further notice from Bangladeshi officials, the report said.

of India ANI also cited an official notice posted at the High Commission in Delhi regarding the closure.

“Due to unavoidable circumstances, all consular and visa services at the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi have been temporarily suspended until further notice,” the publication said in the statement.

The closure of the consular services comes after a protest held outside the Bangladesh HC under the banner of “Akhand Hindu Rashtra Sena”, which New Delhi said was against the killing of Dipu Chandra Das and for the protection of minorities in Bangladesh.

Das, a garment factory worker, was beaten to death on December 18 in Mymensingh, Bangladesh, allegedly for blasphemy, after which his body was also set on fire. Prothom Hello.

Bangladesh’s foreign ministry rejected India’s explanation, saying the protest could not be termed as “misleading propaganda”.

“The miscreants were allowed to conduct their activities just outside the HC perimeter, creating panic among the staff inside the compound,” Bangladesh’s foreign office said.

Relations between the two nations worsened after the assassination of prominent Bangladeshi student Sharif Osman Hadi.

Hadi, 32, was shot in the head by masked assailants in Dhaka while campaigning for the election. He was a representative of Inquilab Mancha, or Platform for the Revolution, and participated in the protests that overthrew Hasina.

After his death, mobs attacked the Indian High Commission Assistant in Chittagong, as well as torched several newspaper shops in Dhaka, accusing them of favoring India, where ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has taken refuge since fleeing Dhaka after the 2024 uprising.