- Bangladesh officials reiterated the extradition demand multiple times recently.
Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi on Saturday described former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s arrival in New Delhi two years ago as an “unexpected” development, saying India had been caught unprepared by the situation and had no role in arranging her flight.
Trivedi was speaking at the Bay of Bengal Conversation in Dhaka, organised by the Centre for Governance Studies, where he responded to questions surrounding Hasina’s legal status in India and Bangladesh’s repeated demands for her extradition.
‘India Was Not Prepared’
Addressing the circumstances surrounding Hasina’s arrival, Trivedi made it clear that the Indian military was not involved in bringing her to the country.
“Hasinaji was not brought to India by the Indian Air Force or the Indian Army,” he said.
Trivedi said the development followed the “tragic circumstances” prevailing in Bangladesh at the time and expressed hope that such a situation would not recur.
“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,” he said.
The High Commissioner said Indian authorities were themselves taken by surprise as events unfolded.
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“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….” Trivedi said.
‘What Was Our Choice?’
Trivedi also questioned what option India had in the circumstances, saying that refusing permission for the aircraft to land could have changed the course of events.
“What was our [India’s] choice?” he asked, while referring to the possibility of withholding “landing permission”.
He said both India and Bangladesh are vibrant democracies and that their respective “legal systems” are examining matters linked to bilateral legal procedures.
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Bangladesh Repeatedly Seeks Extradition
The issue of Hasina’s extradition has remained a point of discussion between the two countries.
Bangladesh’s interim administration submitted an initial formal extradition request in December 2024. The demand was subsequently repeated by the administration of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, which took office after the February 2026 general elections.
Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman also reiterated the demand during talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar earlier this year.
The issue was raised again by Prime Minister Rahman when Trivedi paid a courtesy call in August.
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