The maiden case of enforced disappearance was filed with the International Crimes Tribunal on Monday against deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, Dhaka Metropolitan Police detective branch official Mashiur Rahman and 23 of her associates.
A businessman, Enamul Kabir, filed the complaint with the International Crimes Tribunal on Monday on charge of crimes against humanity.
Enamul alleged that he was abducted from his business premises in Basabo area in the capital on November 17, 2018, and held in captivity for 10 days.
He claimed that he was blindfolded and subjected to inhumane torture on the orders of the then DB officer Mashiur Rahman.
Enamul believed that the purpose of the torture was to extract information about Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.
The complaint called for an investigation into all cases of enforced disappearances during Sheikh Hasina regime, spanning from January 2009 until her resignation amid a student-led mass uprising on August 5.
Nine days after his abduction, Enamul was charged under the Explosive Substances Act, with allegations that explosives were found at his business.
He was later released on bail after an extended period in custody.
At a press briefing, ICT chief prosecutor Md Tajul Islam said that the investigation agency would scrutinise Enamul鈥檚 complaint before initiating any broader investigations into enforced disappearances.聽
Enamul Kabir鈥檚 complaint became the second case of enforced disappearance filed with the ICT, bringing the total number of cases against Hasina and her associates to 31 since her resignation and fleeing to India on August 5.
On Sunday, the ICT received its first complaint related to enforced disappearance against six Rapid Action Battalion officers, accused of abducting and torturing physician Israt Rafique Eshita in 2021.
Eshita, in her complaint, alleged that RAB officers abducted her from her Kafrul home on July 28, 2021, and subjected her to inhumane torture.
In addition to these enforced disappearance cases, 144 other criminal cases have been lodged with the ICT against Hasina, her cabinet members, political colleagues, and senior law enforcement officials.
Many of these cases pertain to the killings of students during the student-led movement against discrimination between July 16 and August 5.
On Monday, a fresh case was filed against Hasina, her younger sister Sheikh Rehana, and 69 others, over the killing of garment worker Md Fazlu during the protest in the capital鈥檚 Mirpur-14 on August 5.
Fazlu鈥檚 wife, Suraiya, lodged the complaint with the court of Dhaka metropolitan magistrate Md Saiful Islam. The court directed the Police Bureau of Investigation to probe the matter and submit a report.
The complaint details how Fazlu was shot near the Mirpur-14 police lines at about 10:00am on August 5.
He was rushed to Max Medical College Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead. Among the accused in the case are former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan and former state minister for industries affairs, Kamal Ahmed Majumder.
