Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain yesterday said he has come to know about the reported visa extension of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who is staying in India since her ouster on August 5 last year, through media.

"Like you, I also got to know it from newspapers. What can we do?" he said when journalists asked him about the reported visa extension of Hasina at the foreign ministry.

Quoting sources in New Delhi, the Hindustan Times yesterday reported that New Delhi extended Sheikh Hasina's visa.

According to the report, the Union home ministry was required to sign off on the visa extension through the local Foreigners Regional Registration Office. Authorities, however, dismissed claims that the former leader had been granted 'asylum' in the country.

Bangladesh sought Hasina's extradition through a note verbal sent to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs on December 23.

Asked about New Delhi's response to the communication, Touhid Hossain told reporters: "We have not yet received any response to our letter."

On Monday, the Department of Immigration and Passports cancelled the passports of 97 people, including Hasina, for their alleged involvement in enforced disappearances and killings during protests in July.