Dhaka: Former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s arrival in New Delhi two years ago was ‘unexpected” and the Indian military played no role in flight arrangements, Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi said on Saturday.
He also said that while India is probing all legal options regarding Bangladesh’s demand for Hasina’s extradition, no timeframe can be set.
Trivedi was speaking at the Bay of Bengal Conversation in Dhaka, an event organised by the local think tank Centre for Governance Studies, where he addressed queries regarding Hasina’s legal status and ongoing extradition discourses.
“Hasinaji was not brought to India by the Indian Air Force or the Indian Army,” he said, noting, “It so happened because of the tragic circumstances in Bangladesh during that time. We hope and pray that should never happen, where innocent people get killed, doesn’t matter in which part of the world.”
Indian authorities were caught unawares by the sudden development, he said, as reported by ANI.
“The military aircraft came to India… India was not prepared. I was watching on television, and the scroll was coming that she was going to some other country. At that point, Hasinaji was still the prime minister of Bangladesh. We had hardly any choice on that. It was our duty as a neighbour to accept the reality of life. Because situations are such that at times you are not prepared for such….”
“What was our [India’s] choice?” Trivedi asked, noting that withholding “landing permission” could have fundamentally altered the evolving situation.
Both nations function as vibrant democracies, he said, noting that the respective “legal systems” are actively examining matters concerning bilateral legal procedures.
An initial formal extradition request was submitted in December 2024 by the interim administration, followed by repeated calls from the administration of prime minister Tarique Rahman, which assumed office after the February 2026 general elections.
Bangladesh foreign minister Khalilur Rahman reiterated this demand during talks with external affairs minister S Jaishankar earlier this year, and prime minister Rahman raised the issue when Trivedi paid him a courtesy call in August.