India, July 23 -- A news conference by Awami League leaders and former ministers to speak about "genocide in Bangladesh" was put off at the last moment on Wednesday, with the organisers saying the event had been adjourned out of respect for the victims of a deadly plane crash in Dhaka this week.

The event in New Delhi was organised by the Bangladesh Human Rights Watch (BHRW), whose US-based secretary general, Muhammad Ali Siddiqui, is known to be close to the Awami League and former Bangladesh premier Sheikh Hasina. Siddiqui has organised several events in the US in support of the Awami League and Hasina, whose government collapsed last August following weeks of protests led by students.

The organisers had said that "dignitaries and min...