DHAKA: Bangladeshi police have requested an Interpol red notice against ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is wanted for alleged involvement in the killings of hundreds of people during student protests that forced her to step down and flee last year.

In early July, a student-led movement began with peaceful demonstrations initially sparked by opposition to public-sector job quotas.

But they were met with a violent crackdown by security forces after two weeks, which according to UN estimates left more than 600 people dead. The deaths led to a nationwide uprising that forced Hasina to resign and leave for neighboring India in early August, ending her 15 years in power.

By October, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal had issued arrest warrants for Hasina and more than 40 other people who are linked to the protest killings.

“The assistance from Interpol is being sought to repatriate the accused persons,” Enamul Haque Sagor, assistant inspector general at the Bangladesh Police Headquarters, told Arab News on Sunday.

“Our all-out efforts are there to make (the red notice issuance happen) as soon as possible.”

Red notices are published by Interpol, an intergovernmental organization of 196 member countries. They serve as requests for law enforcement around the world to detain individuals for whom member states have issued arrest warrants.

Bangladeshi police are also seeking red notices for 11 other people linked to the protest killings, including Hasina’s Awami League general secretary, Obaidul Quader, and former home minister, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal.

The red notice application was submitted at the request of the International Crimes Tribunal, which had sought police assistance after issuing the arrest warrant last year.

The special court will hear at least 70 cases related to the July-August violence.

Established in 2010 during Hasina’s rule, the International Crimes Tribunal is a domestic court responsible for investigating and prosecuting suspects of the 1971 genocide committed by the Pakistan Army and its local collaborators during the Bangladesh Liberation War. It also has jurisdiction over other war crimes and crimes against humanity.

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for his third visit, as India seeks to strengthen strategic ties with the Kingdom, particularly in the energy sector.

During his two-day trip, Modi is scheduled to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, where they will hold bilateral talks and co-chair the second meeting of the Saudi-India Strategic Partnership Council.

“The visit is important also on account of the obvious significance of Saudi Arabia as a strategic partner for India … Saudi Arabia is a leading voice in the Islamic world, and is increasingly playing an important role in regional developments,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told a press briefing on Saturday.

As premier, Modi made his first trip to Saudi Arabia in 2016. Following the crown prince’s first visit to India in February 2019, the Indian leader made his second trip to the Kingdom that October, when the two countries established the Strategic Partnership Council.

In 2023-24, Saudi-India trade reached nearly $43 billion, making India Saudi Arabia’s second-largest trading partner, while the Kingdom stands as New Delhi’s fifth-largest.

Saudi Arabia is “a key player” in India’s energy scenario, Misri said.

“We are looking at infusing an even more strategic outlook in the energy partnership between the two countries. And we expect that the forthcoming visit will have some developments related to this as well,” he added.

Bilateral energy trade alone was worth $25.7 billion in 2023-24, with Saudi Arabia being the third-largest source of India’s LPG, crude and petroleum imports.

Modi’s upcoming visit is a follow-up to the crown prince’s trip to India in 2023, when he attended the summit of the Group of 20 biggest economies.

This was followed by the crown prince’s state visit, which saw the two leaders co-chairing the first meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council, and both countries signing around 50 initial pacts and agreeing to form a joint task force for a $100 billion Saudi investment in India.

“This is a very important visit as Saudi Arabia is one of the most important partners of India in the Gulf and Middle East region,” Muddassir Qamar, associate professor at the Center for West Asian Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, told Arab News on Sunday.

“It is also important as the visit to Saudi Arabia comes at a time of great regional turbulence and uncertainty in international politics, given that Saudi Arabia and India are two of the G20 members and have a similarity of views in regional and global issues.”

Two-way flow of investments, energy security, food security and defense cooperation are likely to be high on the agenda, he said, adding that discussions on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor Agreement are likely to be “top on the priority list,” referring to the trade connectivity plan.

As both countries are working on their respective development plans, namely the Saudi Vision 2030 and India’s Viksit Bharat 2047, they have “ample opportunities to collaborate among businesses and the private sector” across various sectors, including energy, logistics and infrastructure, he added.

Modi’s trip will also boost India’s role in geopolitics, according to Mohammed Soliman, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington D.C.

“Modi’s visit to Saudi Arabia marks a pivotal moment in the deepening of the India-Saudi strategic partnership — strengthening economic ties with $40 billion in trade, securing vital energy supplies, and elevating India’s voice in West Asian geopolitics,” he told Arab News. 

“The visit positions India as a key player in West Asia.”