India remains committed to best interests of people of Bangladesh: MEA on Hasina verdict
New Delhi (PTI): Hours after a special tribunal in Bangladesh sentenced ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to death, India on Monday said it noted the verdict and that it will engage constructively with all stakeholders considering peace, democracy and stability in the neighbouring country.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said India remains committed to the best interests of people of Bangladesh.
Hasina was found guilty of crimes against humanity by the country's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) and it sentenced her to death. Hasina's aide and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal was also given a death sentence on similar charges.
Hasina, the Awami League leader, has been living in India since she fled Bangladesh on August 5 last year in the face of the massive protests.
"India has noted the verdict announced by the 'International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh' concerning former prime minister Sheikh Hasina," the MEA said.
"As a close neighbour, India remains committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including in peace, democracy, inclusion and stability in that country," it said.
"We will always engage constructively with all stakeholders to that end," the MEA added.
However, it did not comment on Dhaka's call to extradite Hasina.
Following the verdict, Bangladesh's foreign ministry demanded that Hasina be immediately handed over under an extradition treaty in view of her sentencing.
"This is also a duty for India, as per the extradition treaty existing between the two countries," it said.
In her reaction, Hasina said the judgement has been made by a "rigged tribunal established and presided over by an unelected government with no democratic mandate".
"They are biased and politically motivated. In their distasteful call for the death penalty, they reveal the brazen and murderous intent of extremist figures within the interim government to remove Bangladesh's last elected prime minister, and to nullify the Awami League as a political force," she said in a statement.
Hasina said she was not afraid to face her "accusers" in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly. "That is why I have repeatedly challenged the interim government to bring these charges before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague."
The verdict comes months before parliamentary elections in Bangladesh.
Hasina's Awami League party has been barred from contesting the elections scheduled to be held in February.
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Punjab: Two shooters, 5 others arrested in AAP sarpanch murder case
Chandigarh (PTI): Punjab Police on Monday said it has arrested two shooters and five other accused in the murder case of an AAP sarpanch who was killed at a wedding in Amritsar on January 4.
The two shooters -- Sukhraj Singh alias Ganga from Patti in Tarn Taran district and Karamjit Singh from Gurdaspur district -- were arrested from Raipur in Chhattisgarh on Sunday in coordination with the local police and central agencies, Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav told reporters here.
The two were produced before a court in Raipur and taken into custody after obtaining transit remand. They are being brought to Amritsar for further investigation, he said.
The other five arrested accused, who were part of the support and logistical module, were arrested from Punjab, the DGP said.
Jharmal Singh, sarpanch of Valthoa village in Tarn Taran, was shot dead at the wedding at point-blank range.
CCTV footage showed the two shooters walking into the wedding venue, one of them pulling out a gun and firing at Singh's head before fleeing the spot. Singh was rushed to a hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries.
Soon after the incident, the AAP government drew flak from the opposition over alleged deteriorating law and order in Punjab, with the BJP demanding Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's resignation.
