The International Crimes Tribunal prosecution on Sunday pressed first formal charges against former Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) commissioner Habibur Rahman and seven other policemen over crimes against humanity committed in Dhaka's Chankharpool area during the July mass uprising.
This is for the first time formal charges were pressed in any case filed over mass killings and atrocities committed during the July uprising.
The prosecution submitted the charges to the tribunal's registrar, said Gazi Monawar Hossain Tamim, prosecutor of the tribunal.
Habibur Rahman and several other accused were allegedly involved under the principle of command responsibility, while other police personnel directly participated in the killings of six protesters that took place in the city's Chankharpool on August 5.
The other accused are Sudip Kumar Chakraborty, the then DMP joint commissioner; Sha Alam Mohammad Akhtarul Islam, former additional deputy commissioner; Mohammad Imrul, former assistant commissioner of Ramna Zone of DMP; Arshad Hossain, former police inspector (operation) at Shahbagh Police Station; and constables Sujon, Imaz Hossain, and Nasirul Islam.
Arshad, Sujon, Imaz, and Nasirul are in jail, while the others are on the run.
Earlier on April 20, the investigation agency of the ICT submitted the probe report against the eight policemen over the killings of six people in Chankharool on August 5.
The victims named in this case are Shahriar Khan Anas, Sheikh Mahdi Hasan Junayed, Mohammad Yakub, Rakib Hawlader, Ismamul Haque and Manik Mia.
