The International Crimes Tribunal on Monday allowed a prosecution plea to show three former senior police officials arrested in a case related to an alleged ‘staged’ extremist den raid in Mirpur’s Jahajbari where law enforcement officers fatally shot nine youths in 2016.
The ex-police officials are former inspector general of police AKM Shahidul Haque, former Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner Asaduzzaman Miah, and former DMP assistant commissioner for Mirpur zone Jasim Uddin Mollah.
The family members of those killed in the July mass uprising on the day, on the other hand, staged a demonstration in front of the tribunal demanding the resignation of chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam.
They accused Tajul of delaying the investigations into cases relating to crimes against humanity committed during the July-August uprising during the Awami League regime.
The protesters under the banner of July 24 Shaheed Paribar Society also called for a ban on the Awami League as a political party.
They alleged that the leaders and activists of the Awami League were involved in crimes against humanity and murders during the uprising that ousted the AL regime on August 5, 2024.
Abdul Matin, father of July uprising victim Sheikh Shahriar Bin Matin, accused chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam of deliberately stalling the investigations into the crimes committed during the July uprising.
‘The chief prosecutor has been bought off, and now he is dragging out the probe in the name of investigation,’ Matin said.
His son Shahriar, an HSC examinee from Ishwardi Ideal College in Mirpur, was fatally shot by the police in the capital’s Mirpur area during the students’ movement against discrimination on July 18.
On August 21, 2024, Matin filed a complaint with the chief prosecutor’s office against deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her associates over his son’s killing.
Abul Hasan, vice chairman of the July 24 Shaheed Paribar Society, warned that the tribunal would face consequences if it failed to begin trials immediately after arresting all accused.
During the demonstration, around 100 protesters attempted to breach the tribunal’s boundary but were blocked by the on-duty police personnel.
Chief prosecutor Tajul Islam told reporters that the families of the victims had every right to seek justice.
He claimed that the prosecution and the investigation agency were making every effort to complete the probe and begin the trial as soon as possible.
The tribunal on Monday also ordered the jail authorities to detain AKM Shahidul Haque, Asaduzzaman Miah, and Jasim Uddin Mollah in connection with crimes against humanity over the Jahajbari killings.
The tribunal passed the order after the three ex-police officers were produced before the court following a warrant issued on March 6.
The case stems from a police operation conducted on July 26, 2016, when the DMP and the Rapid Action Battalion units raided Jahajbari, a house named for its ship-like design.
According to the prosecution, the operation was a staged encounter, and the individuals killed—who were labeled as extremists—had no ties to extremism.
The prosecutors alleged that the victims had been in police custody for an extended period before being killed.
Following the raid, the then IGP AKM Shahidul Haque visited the scene and claimed that the deceased were members of the banned extremist group Neo-Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (Neo-JMB).
The tribunal also directed the investigators to submit a report by June 18 on a former additional deputy commissioner for Darussalam zone, MM Mainul Islam, and others accused in the July-August massacre in Mirpur.
The court also ordered the submission of an investigation report by April 28 against former sub-inspector Chanchal Chandra, former assistant commissioner Rajan Kumar Saha, and others implicated in the Rampura shooting case, where a student was allegedly shot while hanging from a building cornice during the anti-discrimination movement.