Recent revelations surrounding the secret residence of Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in India – which is written by Ananya Bhardwaj, Senior Assistant Editor for ThePrint who covers crime, law and order, terrorism, internal security, and policing in Delhi, have triggered a wave of huggermugger and controversy. A detailed report published by ThePrint exposed Hasina’s alleged safe house location in New Delhi, arranged by the Indian government. The report has set off media coverage across South Asia and raises serious questions about the motives of the Indian National Congress (INC), specifically the influential Gandhi family, in revealing Hasina’s location. For years, the Gandhis have maintained a complex relationship with Hasina, yet recent events suggest they now view their former ally as a political liability, leveraging her situation as a tool to pressure Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration. This turn of events not only threatens the personal security of Sheikh Hasina but also signals a shift in the longstanding alliances and enmities that shape South Asian politics.
The publication of this report in ThePrint, edited by prominent journalist Shekhar Gupta – who has often criticized the Indian National Congress and its controversial leader Rahul Gandhi – was unexpected, as the exposé casts a critical light on figures like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and other key officials in the Indian government and security agencies. Given the gravity of these revelations, further investigation into the matter has unveiled some startling details.
According to ThePrint’s report, Sheikh Hasina has been residing for over two months in a safe house within New Delhi’s high-security Lutyens Bungalow Zone, a location arranged by the Government of India. The Lutyens Bungalow Zone houses several current and former Members of Parliament and senior government officials. ThePrint claims it has “chosen not to disclose her exact address or street details” to “protect her privacy and security”.
However, by publicly disclosing that Hasina is residing in this area, the report has potentially exposed her to significant security risks.
For years, senior Indian National Congress (INC) leaders, including Antonia Albina Maino (also known as Sonia Gandhi), her son Raul Vinci (also known as Rahul Gandhi), and her daughter Priyanka Vadra, have sought to discredit Prime Minister Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to weaken their hold on power. In their pursuit, the Gandhis have reportedly engaged with international figures, including George Soros and influential officials within the Biden administration and US intelligence agencies.
According to our sources, details regarding Sheikh Hasina’s current location were leaked by Raul Vinci to Sagarika Ghosh, a member of Rajya Sabha from Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress. This information subsequently reached various journalists, including Ananya Bhardwaj.
Interestingly, Sagarika Ghose’s husband, Rajdeep Sardesai, is a friend of Shekhar Gupta, as is another journalist, Barkha Dutt, who has been controversial for her past coverage during the Kargil War. Shekhar Gupta is also reportedly close to Arfa Khanum Sherwani, a journalist known for her critical stance on certain security issues in India.
Many may wonder why Raul Vinci would leak information about Sheikh Hasina’s secret location, given his family’s longstanding ties with her. The answer lies in strategic considerations: the Gandhis reportedly believe that Hasina’s presence in India is drawing substantial criticism from anti-Hasina factions in Bangladesh, and they are under growing pressure from the Biden administration and their current allies in Dhaka to either urge her departure from the country or extradite her back to Bangladesh.
Further, the Gandhis may see an opportunity to use the “Hasina issue” as a pressure point against the Modi administration, possibly inviting Western influence to put additional strain on Modi’s government.
By indirectly pressuring the Indian government to extradite or expel Sheikh Hasina, the Gandhis are also aiming to build closer ties with the interim government in Dhaka, led by Mohammad Yunus, and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Notably, the Gandhis have refrained from contact with Awami League leaders since August 5.
According to a source, although Sheikh Hasina reportedly attempted to reach out to Congress leader Antonia Albina Maino during her stay in New Delhi, the Gandhis displayed little interest in re-establishing contact with her.
This contrasts starkly with the period following the coup in Bangladesh on August 15, 1975, when then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and influential Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee maintained close ties with Sheikh Hasina, who was then living in India under political asylum. Hasina often regarded Mukherjee as a mentor, and his wife reportedly treated her as a daughter.
Alarmingly, information about Sheikh Hasina’s location has not only reached multiple journalists in New Delhi but has also reportedly been shared with George Soros and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), thereby posing serious threats to her safety.
According to reports, on August 5, 2024, Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh in a military aircraft with her younger sister, Sheikh Rehana, and Security Advisor Major General (Retired) Tarique Ahmed Siddique. From India, General Siddique traveled to London, while it remains unclear if Sheikh Rehana is still with her sister. Indian authorities have restricted Sheikh Hasina from meeting any Awami League leaders or even her daughter, Saima Wazed, who serves as the World Health Organization’s Regional Director and also lives in New Delhi. Additionally, Hasina has been barred from communicating with her son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy.
Meanwhile, shocking reports shedding light on the Gandhis’ internal affairs have emerged in Blitz; on October 25, 2024, Blitz editor Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury published a tweet alleging serious concerns involving Priyanka Vadra. The tweet raised questions about the privileges of her husband, Robert Vadra, his alleged ties to controversial figures, and his involvement in various suspicious events.
Additionally, although India has granted Sheikh Hasina a travel pass allowing her to visit other countries, at least four nations have reportedly refused her entry for even short visits.
In India, following the recent ban on the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), most major media outlets now label the group as a “terrorist organization” responsible for numerous violent incidents during Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year tenure. Some analysts have even likened the BCL to Adolf Hitler’s Nazi forces.
A Washington source revealed that US authorities may also soon place the BCL on a watchlist, which would result in visa restrictions for its leaders and members.
Meanwhile, Gandhis seem to have mobilized their full-force in getting Sheikh Hasina’s whereabouts in Delhi exposed in a large number of their loyalist media outlets. Hours after publication of the first report in ThePrint, India’s influential daily the Hindustan Times has published another report giving even further details about Sheikh Hasina’s current location. In the report HT stated:
… the 77-year-old leader is living in a secure bungalow in central Delhi somewhere near India Gate and Khan Market, intelligence officials with knowledge of developments said, adding that multiple layers of security sheath the former prime minister of Bangladesh who continues to face a slew of death threats over alleged atrocities committed during her term.
Officials said on Thursday that Hasina has been living in Lutyens Delhi since she shifted from Hindon, as first reported by The Print earlier in the day. A Financial Times report last month also said that she was spotted at Lodhi Garden, a popular haunt for walkers in central Delhi.
The officials quoted above said her new residence was an intelligence bureau (IB) safehouse but asked not to disclose the exact location, citing threats to Hasina’s life. She is also facing an arrest warrant in Bangladesh.
The inner and outer security cordon of all the safe house – one of three such facilities in central Delhi – is taken care of by the officials of the central agencies while “watchers and spotters” from the commando unit of the Delhi Police are deployed around the bungalows to keep a vigil on suspicious activities and people, one of the officials cited above said.
A second official said that a sub-inspector (SI) from Delhi Police was tagged with the officials of the IB and ministry of external affairs (MEA) for a couple of days when Hasina was brought to Delhi from Hindon.
“The sub-inspector was given very clear instructions — not to disclose details about the secret operation and the address of the safe house to anyone in his personal and professional circles. The SI was told that he shouldn’t be revealing any information even if the Delhi Police chief or any of his supervisory officers asked for the same,” the second official said, requesting anonymity.
The SI was withdrawn from the security protocol after two or three days, as IB and MHA officials took over the security arrangements.
The second officer said that Hasina’s daughter, Saima Wazid, the regional director of the World Health Organisation (WHO) who lives in Delhi, was also provided security cover by the Delhi Police. The two have met a few times in the past two months under tight and secret security protocols, said the officials.
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