A Bangladeshi student activist, wanted in the murder of a Hindu police officer in 2024, was arrested at Delhi airport while reportedly trying to flee to Europe.

The student leader identified as Ahmed Raza Hasan Mehdi was deported to Bangladesh soon after the arrest, according to a report by NDTV.

Hasan Mehdi is a resident of Habiganj in Bangladesh, who is an accused in the murder of Sub-Inspector Santosh Chowdhury on August 5, 2024, during the mass anti-government protest across the country that led to the removal of Sheikh Hasina from the post of Prime Minister.

Chowdhury was killed when protestors launched an attack on a police station, after which his body was discovered hanging from a tree on August 5. It was the same day when former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had to flee the country as incidents of arson and looting were reported across multiple parts of Bangladesh.

Citing sources, NDTV confirmed that later a video went viral showing Mehdi taking responsibility for the killing of the police officer. Sub-Inspector Santosh Chowdhury had been married for less than a year when violent protests calling for Hasina's removal erupted. Three months after he was killed in the attack on the Baniachang police station in Habiganj, his wife gave birth to a son. He was the only child of his parents.

Protestors set the police station on fire amid demonstrations

On the day of the incident, students and local residents had organised a protest march over deaths reported elsewhere. When the crowd neared the police station, cops opened fire, killing six people. Enraged villagers surrounded the police station and set it on fire, trapping several cops inside. Meanwhile, reports indicated that Chowdhury was lynched by the mob and burned to death.