Indian visa applications suspended indefinitely in Bangladesh’s Chittagong

According to local media reports, India on Sunday, December 21, 2025, suspended visa processing at the India Visa Application Center in Chittagong, Bangladesh’s second largest city, until further notice, following rising tensions following the death of prominent youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi.

Hadi, one of the prominent leaders of the student-led protests that culminated in the toppling of the Awami League government led by prime minister Sheikh Hasina last year, was a candidate in the general elections scheduled to be held on February 12.

He was shot in the head by masked gunmen during an election campaign in Bijoynagar district in central Dhaka on December 12. He died while receiving treatment in Singapore on Thursday, December 18.

His death triggered attacks and vandalism across Bangladesh, including stone-throwing at the Indian Deputy High Commissioner’s home in Chattogram on Thursday, December 18.

It was stated that the Indian Visa Application Center (IVAC) has suspended Indian visa applications in Chittagong indefinitely. Dhaka Tribune newspaper On Sunday, December 21st.

The decision came into effect on Sunday, December 21, following a recent security incident at the Indian Deputy High Commission in Chittagong.

According to IVAC, all Indian visa-related services in the port city will remain closed from December 21 until further notice.

In the statement, it was stated that after the security situation is reviewed, another announcement will be made regarding the reopening of the visa application center.

On December 20, security was strengthened at the Indian Deputy High Commission office and the visa application center in Sylhet, Bangladesh.

Sylhet Metropolitan Police Additional Deputy Commissioner (Media) Saiful Islam told The Dhaka Tribune on Saturday (December 20) that the increased security measures have been put in place to ensure “no third party can exploit the situation”.

32-year-old Hadi was buried under extra tight security measures next to the grave of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam near the Dhaka University mosque on Saturday, December 20.

Tens of thousands of people attending the funeral prayers chanted anti-India slogans such as “Delhi or Dhaka – Dhaka, Dhaka” and “Hadi brother’s blood will not be allowed to flow in vain” before the ceremony.