Bangladesh suspends visa services in key Indian cities

Bangladesh has suspended visa and consular services in India’s New Delhi, Siliguri and Agartala following protests by Hindu nationalist groups, with officials citing security concerns behind the temporary shutdowns.

The Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi announced on Sunday that all consular services, including visa issuance, were being suspended with immediate effect due to what it described as “unavoidable circumstances.” Officials at Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the suspension will remain in place until further notice.
A notice posted at the high commission said visa and consular operations had been halted temporarily after a protest late Saturday night outside the mission. According to officials, around 20 to 25 members of a group calling itself Akhand Hindu Rashtra Sena gathered in front of the premises, shouted slogans against Bangladesh and allegedly issued threats against Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to India, M Riaz Hamidullah, before dispersing after about 20 minutes.
In eastern India, Bangladesh’s visa centre in Siliguri, West Bengal, was also forced to close on Sunday after protests turned violent. Members of several Hindutva organisations, including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Hindu Jagaran Manch and Siliguri Mahanagar Sangathan, vandalised the facility during a demonstration alleging persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh.
Diplomatic sources in Delhi and Kolkata said the Siliguri visa centre is operated by a private firm, DU Digital, which has managed the facility for several years. Media reports said around 300 protesters first gathered at Bagha Jatin Park before marching to the visa office and surrounding it. During the protest, demonstrators demanded an end to what they called abuses against minority Hindus in Bangladesh and sought justice over the killing of Dipu Das in Mymensingh.
A five-member delegation of protesters later entered the visa office and asked officials to keep it closed as part of the protest. One representative reportedly instructed a DU Digital official by phone not to reopen the centre and to remove Bangladesh-related signage, warning that operations would not be allowed to continue amid the allegations.
Citing security risks, DU Digital shut down the Siliguri visa centre before mid-afternoon on Sunday. A decision on reopening will be taken after a review of the situation, according to a diplomatic source in Kolkata.
Separately, Bangladesh’s Assistant High Commission in Agartala, in India’s northeastern state of Tripura, announced that consular services and visa issuance would be suspended from Monday (23 December) until further notice. The foreign ministry said the move was also taken as a precautionary measure in light of the evolving security situation.