India extends ex-Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina's visa: Reports
The Indian government has extended the visa of ousted former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina, a day after the interim government of the South Asian nation cancelled her passport, media reports said.
India made the move amid rising demand from Bangladesh for her extradition.
Sources, however, refuted claims of Hasina, who fled Dhaka on August 5 amid violent protests by students, being granted asylum, reported India Today.
They clarified to the Indian news channel that India lacks specific legislation for granting asylum and stressed that her visa extension should not be interpreted as a move towards offering refuge.
"This is purely a technical extension to facilitate her stay," a source said.
Sources told India Today that Hasina has been living under tight security in a safehouse in Delhi.
Bangladesh government scraps Sheikh Hasina's passport
Meanwhile, Bangladesh's Department of Immigration and Passports has cancelled the passports of Sheikh Hasina and 96 others.
The interim government, which forcefully came to power after Sheikh Hasina's ouster, cancelled the passports for their alleged involvement in enforced disappearances and killings during the July-August mass uprising.
Azad Majumder, chief adviser's deputy press secretary, told The Daily Star newspaper that passports of 75 others, including Hasina, were revoked for their alleged involvement in violence during the uprising.
Sheikh Hasina's ouster
Bangladesh plunged into a political crisis after Hasina, one of the longest serving PM of the Muslim-majority nation, was forced to flee to India amid severe protests against her government over a job quota row on August 5.
After she escaped, Muhammad Yunus-led interim government came to power on August 8.
Relationship between India and Bangladesh touched low points ever since Hasina exited.
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