Interim Govt Files New Murder Cases Against Hasina, Says Law And Order Situation Remains A Challenge

Two new murder cases were filed on Monday against Bangladesh’s deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina and ex-ministers of her cabinet over the killings of two people during the quota reform protests in the country that led to her ouster.

These were the latest in the slew of cases filed against the 76-year-old former premier, who resigned and fled to India on August 5 following a massive protest by students against a controversial quota system in government jobs.

The separate cases were filed for the murders of one Liton Hasan Lalu alias Hasan in the capital’s Mirpur area and one Tarik Hossain in the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area during the violence that led to Hasina’s ouster, state-run BSS news agency reported.

Liton’s brother filed a case against 148 people, including Hasina, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, former inspector general of police (IGP) Abdullah Al Mamun and others at the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mehedi Hasan.

According to the case documents, Linton joined a peaceful procession in the Mirpur area on August 4 as part of the students’ movement. At around 2 pm, men of Hasina’s Awami League party started firing at the procession indiscriminately, injuring Hasan, who succumbed to his injuries later.

Meanwhile, Tarik’s mother, Fidushi Khatun, filed another case against 13 people, including Hasina, former road, transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader, former home minister Kamal, former foreign minister Hasan Mahmud and state minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat.

Tarik was shot by unidentified miscreants in front of Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station on August 5 and succumbed to his injuries on August 9, according to the report.

This raises the number of cases filed against Hasina after her ouster to fifteen.

Late on Sunday, another murder case was filed by Shahnaz Begum, the wife of Md Milon, who was shot dead on July 21 while returning home from a local fish market, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.

As many as 62 people, including Hasina, former road transport and bridges minister Quader, former lawmaker Shamim Osman, and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, were named as accused in the case.

According to the report, leaders and activists of the Hasina-led Awami League and its affiliated organisations armed with firearms and sticks created obstacles to traffic on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway to disrupt the student movement.

It alleged that Hasina, Quader and Asaduzzaman ordered the shooting and attack on protesting students and the public.

Milon, who was returning home from a local fish market at that time, was shot in the chest and collapsed on the road. He was taken to Pro-Active Medical College and Hospital in the area, where he was declared dead, the report said.

Over 230 people were killed in the incidents of violence that erupted across the country following the fall of the Hasina-led Awami League government, taking the death toll to more than 600 since the massive protest by students first started in mid-July.

An interim government was formed after the fall of the Hasina-led government, and 84-year-old Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was appointed as its Chief Adviser.

Law And Order A Challenge

A newly-appointed top Bangladeshi security official on Monday acknowledged that law and order is the main challenge for the interim government and said that the new administration is focused on improving the situation as quickly as possible.

Talking to the media, Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury emphasised the urgency of addressing security concerns and outlined his dual responsibilities in both home affairs and agriculture.

“Our main challenge at the Ministry of Home Affairs is law and order. We are focused on improving the situation as quickly as possible,” Chowdhury, who was appointed on Friday, was quoted as saying by the UNB news.

Within three days of his appointment, Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hussain was replaced as home adviser in the interim government of Bangladesh by Lt Gen (retd) Chowdhury, amid criticism of the ex-army officer’s conduct by student leaders, media reports on Saturday said.

The law and order situation deteriorated in Bangladesh after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India on August 5 following massive protests against her government over a controversial quota system in government jobs.

The interim government has transferred the chiefs of 32 police stations in Dhaka and another 18 other officers-in-charge. With the latest transfer, the heads of all 50 police stations under the Dhaka Metropolitan Police have been transferred now.

Talking to the media, Chowdhury also discussed his objectives in the agriculture sector, saying his goal is to increase production and ensure that “we can feed more people.” Earlier in the day, Chowdhury met with UN Resident Coordinator Gwyn Lewis and discussed the United Nations’ potential support in various sectors.

“Our discussions centred on the types of assistance they can provide in this situation and which areas we are seeking help in,” he said.

On the Rohingya crisis, he said that the government has requested additional support from the UN. “The Rohingya population is growing daily, with 1.2 million people now in the country. The costs are escalating, and it’s uncertain how long we can sustain this,” he said.

Chowdhury also said that a UN fact-finding mission is expected to arrive in Bangladesh next week.

“We discussed the kind of support they will offer and what assistance we require from them,” he added.