Four NSI officers flee from missions
Four officers of the National Security Intelligence (NSI) have fled from Bangladesh’s foreign missions, according to NSI sources.
All four are reportedly former leaders or activists of the banned Bangladesh Chhatra League. One of them was recently found delivering a virtual speech at an online conference organised by ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in London.
NSI sources confirmed the matter to Asia Post.
An NSI field officer named Ashraf Hossain reportedly fled from the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi in July this year.
Sources said Ashraf, who was working in the consular section of the New Delhi mission, left India saying that he was returning to Bangladesh with his family. However, he did not return to Bangladesh. Multiple NSI sources told Asia Post that he secretly travelled to the United States with his family.
He has yet to officially report to the authorities, as required under government service rules, the sources said.
It has also been confirmed that the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi issued a note verbale to facilitate Ashraf’s US visa application. The United States subsequently issued him a visa based on the note verbale.
Similarly, Nasir, a deputy director at the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi, has also fled to the United States. Unlike Ashraf, Nasir travelled to the US from Bangladesh after returning to Dhaka from New Delhi.
The consular section of the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi also issued a note verbale to facilitate his visa application, sources said.
Meanwhile, Mahmudul Hasan Palash, who was serving at the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata, left for London immediately after the change of government on 5 August 2024.
Palash has remained vocal in support of the ousted Awami League in London. On 5 August this year, he spoke virtually at a press conference organised by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in London.
During his student days, Palash was an office-bearer of the Bangladesh Chhatra League at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET).
Joint Director Badrul, who was posted at the Bangladesh mission in Dubai, also fled after the change of government on 5 August 2024. He remains at large.
The government currently has no specific information about the whereabouts of the four officials, sources said.
Officials appointed during the previous government are still holding positions in important consular sections of Bangladesh’s foreign missions, raising concerns about the possible leakage of sensitive state information.
“In particular, these officials are allegedly providing various forms of assistance to the Awami League,” a Bangladesh government official currently serving at an Indian mission told Asia Post.
Several NSI officials were contacted for comment on the matter, but none agreed to make an official statement.