Seven new cases, including five on the charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, were filed on Sunday against deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her associates, bringing the total number of cases to at least 124 since her ouster following a student-led mass uprising.
Five separate cases with allegations of genocide and crimes against humanity were filed on the day against the ousted prime minister and her associates before the International Crimes Tribunal. These cases were lodged by the families of five students who were shot and killed during the student protests in various parts of Dhaka and beyond, between July 19 and August 5.
The charges relate to the death of Nur-e-Alam and Zubaier on the Mymensingh-Kishoreganj road on July 20; Md Maruf Hossain in front of BRAC University in Badda on July 19; Faisal Sarkar at Abdullahpur in Uttara on the same day; Mahfuzur Rahman at the Mirpur-10 crossing, also on July 19; and Samew Aman Nur, near the Azampur foot over bridge, on August 5.
In addition to Hasina, several high-ranking Awami League leaders and police officers, including members of her cabinet and senior officers of law enforcement, have been named as accused in the cases.聽
The rest of the two new cases involve murder and attempt to murder charges.
The murder case involves the killing of journalist Mehedi Hasan, and the other brings attempted murder charges linked to the comments made by former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in one of her speeches to push Nobel laureate professor Muhammad Yunus and Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia from the Padma Bridge down into the river. The cases were lodged separately with courts in Dhaka and Chattogram.
Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha reported that the murder case, filed in a Dhaka court, implicates 36 individuals, including Sheikh Hasina, for the death of Dhaka Times reporter Mehedi Hasan killed on July 18 while covering protests near the Mayor Mohammad Hanif Flyover at Kazla Point in Jatrabari.
The other noted accused in the case are former ministers Obaidul Quader, Asaduzzaman Khan, Anisul Huq, Rashed Khan Menon and Hasanul Huq Inu, former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun, former Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner Habibur Rahman, former Detective Branch chief Harun-or-Rashid, and former DMP joint commissioner Biplab Kumar Sarker.
Mehedi鈥檚 father Mosharraf Hossain filed the complaint on the day with the court of Dhaka metropolitan magistrate Shahin Reza who asked Jatrabari police officer-in-charge to file the matter as first information report.
The attempted murder case was filed in a Chattogram court against Hasina over alleged threats made on May 14, 2022 to throw Yunus and Khaleda Zia from the Padma Bridge and submerge them in the river.
The case was lodged by former Chattogram Mahanagar Chhatra Dal vice president Sourabh Priya Pal in the court of Chattogram metropolitan magistrate Jewel Deb.
The magistrate ordered the Police Bureau of Investigation to investigate the allegations by an additional superintendent or an officer of equivalent rank, directing the agency to submit report within 30 days.
