India says examining Bangladesh request for Hasina's extradition

• India says request under review as part of ongoing legal processes. 
• Hasina faces death sentence for role in student protesters' killing. 
• Dhaka says Delhi "obligatory duty” under to enable ex-PM's return.

India is examining a request from Bangladesh for the extradition of the country's former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Indian foreign ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday.

The request — first made in December and reiterated this month after Hasina was sentenced to death for her role in the killing of student protesters last year — was being examined in India as part of ongoing internal judicial and legal processes, he said.

Hasina fled to India in August 2024 at the height of the protests.

Bangladesh’s government said on Sunday it had asked New Delhi to extradite Hasina, 78, who has been in hiding in India since her autocratic rule was overthrown in August 2024. 

As prime minister, she had had New Delhi’s backing.

Following the court ruling on Monday, convicting Hasina of crimes against humanity and sentencing her to death, the foreign ministry in Dhaka said in a statement that Delhi had an "obligatory responsibility" under a bilateral treaty to facilitate the former leader’s return.

Bangladesh has been in political turmoil since the end of Hasina’s rule, and violence has marred campaigning for elections expected in February 2026.

The United Nations said up to 1,400 people were killed in crackdowns as Hasina tried to cling to power, deaths that were central to her trial.

India’s past support for Hasina has frayed relations between the two neighbours since her overthrow.

But tensions appear to have eased slightly when Bangladesh’s National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman visited India this week for a regional security summit and met with his counterpart Ajit Doval.

Media reports in Bangladesh said Rahman has invited Doval for a visit.

— Additional input from AFP