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The investigation agency of the International Crimes Tribunal has submitted its first probe report on crimes against humanity committed in the capital’s Chankharpul area during the July–August mass uprising to the Chief Prosecutor’s Office accusing eight former members of the police.

The eight former police officials including former Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner Habibur Rahman were accused for their alleged involvement in killing six students during an anti-discrimination protest in the capital’s Chankharpul area on August 5, 2024, the day when the Awami League regime was ousted from power and deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India for shelter amid the mass uprising.

Four of the accused people – the then inspector Arshad and constables Md Sujon, Imaaj Hossain Iman, and Nasirul Islam — are now in jail, while the remaining four – DMP’s former commissioner Habibur Rahman, former joint commissioner Sudip Kumar Chakrabarty, former Ramna zone additional deputy commissioner Shah Alam Mahmud Akhtarul Islam and former Ramna zone assistant commissioner Md Imrul – are in hiding.

This is the first complete investigation report formally submitted to the Office of  the Chief Prosecutor, among 35 ongoing cases related to the mass uprising and enforced disappearances during the final phase of the Awami League regime.

According to the investigators, the accused used lethal force to suppress student protests, opening fire on demonstrators and bystanders near Borhanuddin College in the Chankharpul area. The deceased are Shahriar Khan Anas, Sheikh Mahdi Hasan Zunaid, Md Yaqoob, Md Rakib Howlader, Md Ismamul Haque, and Manik Miah Shahri.

Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam, addressing a press conference at his office on ICT premises in the capital on Monday, said that his office had received an unofficial copy of the report Sunday afternoon.

‘We hope to submit the formal charge in the Chankharpul case soon,’ he said.

The 90-page probe report, prepared in 195 days, cites the six victims’ inquest reports, statements of 79 witnesses, 19 video clippings, 11 newspaper reports, two audio recordings, and 11 books as evidence.

According to the report, Armed Police Battalion member Md Sujan Hossain was directly responsible for firing at protesters from multiple positions. The statements of the witnesses and video footage showed him shooting at the crowd, allegedly under the command of senior officers.

Tajul Islam said that the investigation found that senior officers including Habibur Rahman either directly participated in, facilitated, supervised, or abetted the crimes.

‘The junior officers acted under the direction of their superiors. The commanding officers made no effort to prevent the crimes,’ he said.

He said that the deposed prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, had directed the law enforcement agencies to use lethal weapons to curb the protests.

He said that the name of Hasina was not included in the list of accused as a separate charge sheet would be submitted against her.

He said that Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader and the then home minister Asaduzzaman Khan had held a meeting and asked their party leaders and activists not to stay at home and directed them to take action against the protesters.

The chief prosecutor also revealed that, so far, the tribunal has issued arrest warrants for 141 individuals in 22 cases relating to the July–August uprising, enforced disappearances, and the attack on the Hefazat-e-Islam rally at Shapla Chattar. Of them, 54 have been arrested.

The Chief Prosecutor’s Office has received a total of 339 complaints to date, of which 39 cases have been selected for formal investigation. Arrest warrants in the 22 pending cases were issued while formal charges were still under preparation.

The International Crimes Tribunal’s investigation agency has requested the Inspector General of Police to initiate the process of issuing Interpol red notices against 10 individuals, including nine senior Awami League leaders, for their alleged involvement in crimes against humanity during the July–August 2024 mass uprising.

All of the accused are known as the close associates of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India on August 5, 2024 — the day her government was ousted amid a student-led mass uprising.

The Awami League leaders named in the request include the party general secretary Obaidul Quader, presidium member Jahangir Kabir Nanak, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, former liberation war affairs minister AKM Mozammel Haque, former foreign minister Hasan Mahmud, former education minister Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury, former state minister for power and energy Nasrul Hamid, former state minister for information Mohammad Ali Arafat and former Dhaka South City Corporation mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh.     

In addition, the agency also sought a red notice for Tarique Ahmed Siddique, former defence and security affairs adviser to Sheikh Hasina.

Meanwhile, 19 high-profile detainees — including former ministers and advisers — were produced before the ICT in connection with a case over crimes against humanity during the July uprising.

The three-member tribunal, led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, granted the Chief Prosecutor’s Office two more months to complete the investigation against Obaidul Quader and 44 others.

Those produced in court included former ministers Anisul Huq, Amir Hossain Amu, Abdur Razzaque, Rashed Khan Menon, Shahjahan Khan, Qamrul Islam, Lt Col (retired) Mohammad Faruk Khan, Hasanul Haq Inu, Kamal Ahmed Majumder, Golam Dastagir Gazi, and Dipu Moni.

Other accused include former state minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak, former advisers Salman F Rahman and Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, retired Appellate Division judge AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury Manik, former home secretary Jahangir Alam, former lawmaker Solaiman Selim, ex-IGP Abdullah Al-Mamun, and former military intelligence officer Ziaul Ahsan.

As of April 1, the ICT’s investigation agency was probing 34 cases involving 167 accused individuals. Among them, 45 people — mostly police officers — have been arrested, and 33 were formally shown arrested in cases linked to the mass uprising.

Following the July–August uprising, which left hundreds dead and thousands injured in alleged attacks by law enforcement agencies and Awami League activists, the tribunal was revived after years of inactivity.

The International Crimes Tribunal was established on March 25, 2010, under the Awami League government, followed by ICT-2 in 2012 to handle the volume of war crimes cases. ICT-2 was rendered inactive in 2015, and ICT-1 ceased operations after the retirement of its last chairman, Justice Md Abu Ahmed Jamadar, in June 2024.

The government reconstituted the tribunal on October 14, 2024, with Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder appointed as the tribunal chairman.