India's High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Dinesh Trivedi, said on October 3 that New Delhi had "hardly any choice" but to receive former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina when she arrived in India in August 2024. Speaking during a question-and-answer session at the Bay of Bengal Conversation in Dhaka, Trivedi said the Indian authorities were not prepared for the situation. "At that point in time, Hasina was still the prime minister of Bangladesh. We had hardly any choice on that. It was our duty as a neighbour to accept the reality of life, because situations are such where at times you are not prepared for it," he said. He added that India, as a historical and old friend, did exactly what it should have done in that critical moment.
Trivedi stressed that Hasina was not brought to India by the Indian Air Force or the Indian Army. "Going back to history, Hasina was not brought to India by the Indian Air Force or Indian Army," he said. He recalled watching television at the time, with the news scroll speculating about which country she might head to. A Bangladesh Air Force aircraft carried her to India on August 5, 2024, as protesters moved toward her official residence; she was escorted out by a Bangladesh Army-led security detachment. Trivedi described the circumstances of her departure as "tragic" and said such situations should never be repeated anywhere in the world.
On Dhaka's repeated demands for Hasina's extradition, Trivedi said the matter is entirely a judicial and legal process, currently proceeding at its own pace through the courts and the established legal framework. "Again and again, the government of India has replied to this that there is a process, and the process is legal, and it is well structured. So, as far as that is concerned, the process is on," he said. "Nobody can give you a timeframe." India's external affairs ministry has likewise maintained that Bangladesh's extradition request, sent through a formal diplomatic note, is being examined in line with established processes.
Hasina, 79, has been living in India since fleeing Dhaka on August 5, 2024, after her government collapsed in the face of the mass anti-government movement known as the July Uprising. The uprising began as protests against a government job-quota system before widening into a broader revolt. In 2025, a special tribunal in Bangladesh tried her in absentia and sentenced her to death. The interim government that followed her ouster disbanded her Awami League party and formally sought her extradition from India. The current government led by Tarique Rahman has renewed that request, putting the issue back at the center of bilateral ties.
Trivedi emphasized that India's foundational relationship with Bangladesh remains steady and independent of Dhaka's internal political transitions or its evolving diplomatic engagements with third nations. Asked about India's security concerns, he said Bangladesh is an independent and sovereign country that understands its own security better than any other country, adding that there is no reason for anyone to tell Bangladesh what to do, and that its government and people have the right to decide their own interests and security. How the extradition's legal process unfolds, and whether bilateral ties mend under the new government in Dhaka, will be the key things to watch in South Asian geopolitics.