Ex-DB AC Zabed Iqbal arrested
The International Crimes Tribunal on Tuesday ordered the jail authorities to produce detained former Dhaka North City Corporation mayor Atiqul Islam and five other Awami League leaders before the tribunal on February 17.
The tribunal asked to produce them before it in a case of crimes against humanity committed in the capital鈥檚 Uttara area during the student-led mass uprising in July-August 2024.
The five other accused are Awami League鈥檚 Uttara East unit education affairs secretary Shahinur Mia, Uttara West unit president Monowar Islam Chowdhury Robin, Uttara Sector-6 unit president Bashir Uddin, Juba League leader Delwar Hossain Rubel, and Gazipur city unit of Awami League organising secretary Abdullah Al Mamun Mondal.
A two-member ICT bench, comprising chairman Golam Mortuza Mozumder and retired district judge Mohammad Mohitul Haque Anam Chowdhury passed the order after hearing an application filed by chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam.
In a separate order, the tribunal sent former Dhaka Metropolitan Police鈥檚 Detective Branch assistant commissioner Zabed Iqbal, now serving in the Rapid Action Battalion, to jail after he was produced before the court in the Uttara case.
Earlier in the day, the tribunal issued arrest warrants for two police officers, including Zabed.
The prosecutors withheld the second officer鈥檚 name for security reasons.
Prosecutor Gazi Monwar Hossain Tamim said that Zabed Iqbal was arrested at the capital鈥檚 Mohammadpur at about 4:00pm on Tuesday.
Zabed allegedly opened fire on students during the Uttara protests, in which nearly 200 people were killed, according to the prosecution.
Prosecutor Sultan Mahmud told reporters that former mayor Atiqul not only participated in the suppression of the student movement but also facilitated and ordered to attack on protesters.
Atiqul and the five AL leaders are now in jails in different cases.
The tribunal also allowed investigator Mozibur Rahman Majumder to interrogate detained constable Md Hossain Ali for one day in custody over his alleged involvement in crimes against humanity in Uttara.
Meanwhile, the mother of Mostafizur Rahman Sifat, a former leader of Islami Chhatra Shibir, on Tuesday filed a complaint with the office of the chief prosecutor, alleging that her son was killed on December 24, 2016 in custody.
