NEW DELHI – Ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina requested on Monday a new passport and identity card so she can return from self-imposed exile in India , according to a letter, her first such communication since fleeing in 2024.

The request marks the clearest step by Hasina to act on her plan to return to Bangladesh in December, more than two years after a deadly uprising ended her long rule, raising the prospect of fresh political and legal tensions in a country where her party is now banned.

She has said she plans to return to surrender before a court, and her aides said on Monday the date would be announced once various formalities were completed.…