Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was the father of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
For the second time in 30 days, Indian Intelligence agencies reportedly handed over to Bangladesh a key conspirator convicted in the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman - the founder of the neighbouring country. In February, New Delhi had handed over an absconding assassin to Dhaka.
Mujibur Rahman, who is popularly known as Bangabondhu, was the father of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. He and most members of his family were brutally gunned down in their home in Dhaka on August 15, 1975.
On April 12, Bangladesh executed the first fugitive, Abdul Majid, 73, who used to be a captain in the Army.
According to reports, a second conspirator, Risaldar Mosleuddin, was handed over Monday evening to Bangladesh at an undisclosed land border crossing.
Mosleuddin is believed to be one of the conspirators who shot down Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Both assassins were reportedly living in West Bengal for over two decades. Abdul Majid was picked up from near his home in south Kolkata late February. Mosleuddin was detained in Bongaon, some 70 km away.
Abdul Majid had been passing himself off as a teacher while Mosleuddin ran a small herbal medicine shop. According to easternlinks.com, a news portal that broke the story, Majid revealed Mosleuddin's whereabouts before he was hanged.
Both are among at least a dozen others who were convicted of the assassination of Mujibur Rahman by the Bangladesh Supreme Court in 2009. Five of the convicted men were executed in 2010. At least four convicts are still at large.
The reported intelligence operation to track Mosleuddin was conducted under deep cover by top agencies and even the West Bengal police was unaware of the operation, sources say.
When initial reports about the operation emerged along with photos and videos of the suspect, there was a lot of confusion because some sources claimed the man in the photo - who was allegedly Mosleuddin - had died a few years ago.
According to some reports, Bangladesh used highly sophisticated facial recognition technology to confirm that the man being handed over was indeed the fugitive.
Official confirmation of the operation is awaited both in India and Bangladesh.