India on Sunday suspended visa services at the Indian Visa Application Center (IVAC) in Chattogram, a southeastern port city in Bangladesh, until further notice, amid violence following the death of prominent youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi, according to PTI citing local media reports.
The suspension came into effect following the recent security incident at the Assistant High Commission of India (AHCI) in Chattogram. Authorities said the visa application center would reopen only after a review of the security situation.
What did IVAC say?
“Due to the recent security incident at the Assistant High Commission of India (AHCI) Chittagong, Indian visa operations at IVAC Chittagong (Chattogrm) will be suspended from 21 December 2025 until further notice. An announcement regarding the re-opening of the visa center will be made after assessing the situation,” IVAC said, PTI reported.
The Indian Visa Application Center (IVAC) operates five centers across Bangladesh – in Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Chattogram and Sylhet. An IVAC official told PTI that four other centers are functioning till now.
Hadi’s death
Hadi, 32, a key figure in last year’s student protests that eventually led to the resignation of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government, was also a candidate for the upcoming general election scheduled for February 12.
He was shot in the head by masked assailants during an election campaign in Dhaka’s Bijoynagar area on December 12 and later died while undergoing treatment in Singapore on Thursday.
Hadi was buried on Saturday under heightened security near the grave of national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, next to the Dhaka University Mosque. Tens of thousands of people attended the funeral prayers and shouted anti-India slogans such as “Delhi or Dhaka – Dhaka, Dhaka” and “brother Hadi’s blood will not be allowed to go to waste” before the ritual.
His death sparked widespread violence and vandalism across Bangladesh, including an incident on Thursday in which stones were thrown at the Indian Deputy High Commissioner’s residence in Chattogram.
India resumes operations at its visa center in Dhaka
Meanwhile, India on Thursday resumed operations at its visa center in Dhaka, a day after temporarily closing it due to heightened security concerns. However, centers in Rajshahi and Khulna were briefly closed when anti-India protesters attempted to march to Indian missions there. On December 20, security was also increased at the office of the Indian Assistant High Commission and at the Visa Application Center in Sylhet.
Enhanced security measures have been put in place to ensure that “no third party can exploit the situation”, The Dhaka Tribune quoted Sylhet Metropolitan Police Additional Deputy Commissioner (Media) Saiful Islam as saying on Saturday.
