Eight days after the resignation of Sheikh Hasina as the Prime Minister on August 5, for the first time on Tuesday, a murder case was filed against her and six others.
The case was filed in connection with the death of grocery shop owner Abu Sayeed, who was killed in a police shooting during the quota protests in Mohammadpur on July 19.
Other six accused persons include Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, former Detective Branch chief Harun Or Rashid, former Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Habibur Rahman, and former DMP Joint Commissioner Biplob Kumar Sarker.
Besides, several unnamed high police officials and government officials were also accused in the case, advocate Md Mamun Miah confirmed it to The Bangladesh Post.
The case, filed by Mohammadpur resident Amir Hamza Shatil in the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court, marks the first legal action against Sheikh Hasina following her resignation and departure to India on August 5. The court, presided over by Magistrate Rajesh Chowdhury, has instructed the Mohammadpur Police Station to register the complaint as a First Information Report (FIR).
In the complaint, Shatil alleged that police, acting under directives from the IGP and the Home Minister, fired indiscriminately at students and the public, resulting in the death of Abu Sayeed. Although Shatil was not personally close to the victim, he felt compelled to file the case as a concerned citizen, citing the inability of the victim’s family, who reside in Boda upazila of Panchagarh district, to seek justice on their own.
It should be mentioned that students and job seekers launched a movement on July 1 demanding reform in the quota system in the government jobs. The movement later turned into a movement named ‘Anti-Discrimination Movement’ that also took another turn with a one-point demand of the resignation of the Prime Minister.
During the movement and after her resignation violent acts took place in the country resulting into the deaths of several hundred people, arson attacks, damages to huge number of government and privet offices and establishments across the country.
In face of the movement, Sheikh Hasina fled from the country after resigning from her post as the Prime Minister.
