Former lawmaker Ranjit Sarker has claimed that he crossed into Bangladesh through India’s Meghalaya border and held a meeting with leaders and activists of the activities-banned Awami League in his former constituency of Sunamganj-1 on Sunday evening (8 November).
Ranjit, the organisational secretary of the banned party’s Sylhet district unit, posted a video of the meeting on his Facebook account today (9 November), claiming to have addressed party activists inside Bangladesh.
However, police in Sunamganj and Sylhet have offered conflicting accounts of where the meeting took place, with the Sunamganj superintendent of police (SP) denying that Ranjit had entered the country.
The video, uploaded at 4:49pm today, shows the former lawmaker addressing a gathering of several people under a canopy. Two men can be seen holding a banner behind him.
The men were identified as Omar Faruk, a leader of the Jamalganj upazila Chhatra League, and Tara Mia, organising secretary of the Tahirpur upazila Awami League. Both upazilas fall within Sarker’s former parliamentary constituency.
The banner read, “Sheikh Hasina will return, Bangladesh will smile”, and described the event as an exchange meeting marking the anticipated return of Sheikh Hasina. It named Advocate Ranjit Sarker as the guest and said the event was organised by the Awami League and its affiliated organisations in Tahirpur, Jamalganj, Dharmapasha and Madhyanagar upazilas.
Ranjit has remained in hiding since 5 August 2024. He reportedly spent some time in the United Kingdom before travelling to India around a month ago, according to an Awami League source.
Attempts to contact Ranjit through WhatsApp and Messenger tonight went unanswered. He also did not respond to phone calls.
However, speaking to another media outlet, he confirmed holding the meeting but declined to disclose further details, saying, “I cannot share any information. I returned to India through the border after the meeting.”
Several sources said the gathering was held near the border on Sunday evening.
In the 5-minute-and-33-second video, Ranjit is seen addressing party activists about what he described as persecution, arrests and the political situation faced by Awami League leaders and activists since 5 August 2024.
He referred to Sheikh Hasina’s announced plan to return to Bangladesh in December and urged party activists to prepare for her return.
He also expressed solidarity with a Chhatra League programme scheduled for Tuesday (10 November) and instructed activists to participate in future party programmes.
Ranjit spoke of restoring Bangladesh under Awami League leadership, establishing a non-communal state and returning to power under Sheikh Hasina’s leadership. He also called on party activists to be prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice.
Sunamganj Superintendent of Police (SP) ABM Zakir Hossain said the district’s border areas were under tight security and that there was no possibility of Sarker entering Bangladesh through the Sunamganj border.
“The people from his former constituency seen in the video were gathered at a location along the Sylhet border to stage the event,” he said.
However, Sylhet SP Dr Chowdhury Md Jaber Sadeque offered a different account, saying the meeting was not held along the Sylhet border but at a location near the Sunamganj border. He also said those attending the gathering were from Sunamganj.
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