While Indians Missions in Bangladesh continue to face threats from Islamists, Bangladesh has attempted to use a small protest outside its High Commission in Delhi to allege a similar security threat. The Foreign Affairs Ministry of Bangladesh today released a statement calling the incident outside the high commission resident regrettable, and denied India’s assertion that there was no security threat.
The statement came after India’s ministry of External Affairs released a statement denying Bangladesh media reports claiming that there was a security threat to the high commission.
The controversy stems from a demonstration on December 20, where a small group of Indian youths gathered outside the Bangladesh High Commission to protest the lynching of 25-year-old Hindu factory worker Dipu Chandra Das in Mymensingh, Bangladesh. The media in Bangladesh claimed that the youths arrived in four to five vehicles, crossed a security cordon and briefly gathered in front of the main gate of Bangladesh House. The reports questioned how protesters were able to reach the mission despite tight security in New Delhi’s diplomatic enclave.
The reports further alleged that the Bangladeshi High Commissioner, who was present Bangladesh House along with his family during the demonstration, faced threats.
However, India’s Ministry of External Affairs denied the claims of any security threats. MEA said that the protest involved about 20-25 individuals who raised slogans demanding protection for minorities but made no attempt to breach security. The group was dispersed by police within minutes, with no threat to the mission. MEA also said that visual evidence of the peaceful nature of the event is publicly available. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal dismissed the reports in sections of Bangladeshi media as “misleading propaganda” and reaffirmed India’s commitment to safeguarding foreign missions under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
But, it seems Bangladesh is attempting to escalate diplomatic tensions with India, amid increasing threats to the Indian mission in Bangladesh. The Md Yunus-led interim government, through Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain, outright rejected India’s explanation during a briefing in Dhaka on Sunday. Hossain described the MEA’s press note as “incomplete and misleading,” emphasising that the High Commission is located within a secured diplomatic enclave.
He questioned how protesters, whom he identified as members of a “Hindu extremist group” under the banner of ‘Akhand Hindu Rashtra Sena,’ were able to approach the entrance. He also claimed that the group issued death threats to High Commissioner Riaz Hamidullah and his family. He asked, “How could a small group of 25 or 30 Hindu extremists enter such a sensitive area?” He further said, “I do not have proof, but we have heard that threats were made against the High Commissioner.”
“The matter is not as simple as it has been presented,” Hossain said, further claiming that only two guards were present and remained passive, violating international diplomatic security norms.
The Bangladeshi foreign affairs ministry then issued a formal statement escalating its attack on India. The statement said, “The miscreants were allowed to carry out their activities right outside the perimeters of the High Commission, creating panic among the personnel inside the complex.”
The unjustifiable incident at the Bangladesh High Commission residence in New Delhi on 20 Dec 2025 is highly regrettable.@bdhc_delhi pic.twitter.com/XopXufH3dw
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs (@BDMOFA) December 21, 2025
On the issue of attack on minority Hindus in the country, Bangladesh downplayed allegations of systematic persecution. They called the brutal killing of Dipu Chandra Das over alleged blasphemy, where the Hindu factory worker was beaten, hanged from a tree, and set on fire, as an “isolated incident,” and not indicative of broader minority insecurity. The statement said, “We reject the attempt of the Indian authorities to depict an isolated attack on a Bangladeshi citizen, who happens to belong to the Hindu community, as attacks on minorities.”
Saying that suspects in the case been detained, the Bangladesh foreign affairs ministry claimed that “the intercommunal situation in Bangladesh is better than in many other parts in South Asia.”
The development came on the day when the Assistant High Commission of India in Chittagong suspended Indian visa operations till further notice due to security reasons. A notification issued by the Indian Visa Application Centre in Bangladesh said, “Due to recent security incident at AHCI Chittagong, Indian visa operations at IVAC Chittagong will remain suspended from 21/12/2025 until further notice.”
Indian missions in Bangladesh have come under attack following the death of Bangladeshi student leader Sharif Osman Hadi, after the Bangladesh govt falsely claimed that his killers have escaped to India. Large mobs in several places have attempted to march towards the missions, but were stopped by police. Due to security threats, visa applications were temporarily halted at Dhaka, Rajshahi and Khulna.
