Zakir Hossain from Dhaka
Bangladesh police have filed a chargesheet against 40 people, including ousted PM Sheikh Hasina, in an attempted murder case linked to an alleged attack on Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (BNP’s student wing) activist Sheikh Mohammad Ashik during the July Mass Uprising.
Other accused include former ministers Obaidul Quader, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and Jahangir Kabir Nanak, former lawmaker Sadek Khan, and ward councillors Asif Ahammed and Tarekuzzaman Rajib.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police prosecution wing deputy commissioner Nasir Ahmed Hawalader said the chargesheet was filed with the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court on May 1. “The court is scheduled to hold a hearing on taking the charge-sheet into cognisance on 13 May,” he added.
According to the case statement, protesters were demonstrating near Mohammadpur Bus Stand’s Mayur Villa area on July 19, 2024, when they were allegedly attacked with batons and gunfire around 2.45pm. Ashik was shot and left on the road after the attackers assumed he was dead.
Ashik filed the case with Mohammadpur Police Station on September 28, 2024, naming 129 accused, including Hasina, and 150 unidentified people.
Meanwhile, a Dhaka court has ordered trial proceedings against former inspector general of police Benazir Ahmed after framing charges in a case over alleged illegal assets worth more than Tk 110 million.
Judge Abdullah Al Mamun of Dhaka Special Judge Court-5 passed the order on Sunday and fixed May 13 for recording witness testimony. “On behalf of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Mir Ahmed Ali Salam argued in favour of framing charges against the accused.
However, as the accused is absconding, no lawyer appeared on his behalf,” bench assistant Sohanur Rahman said.
The court had earlier accepted the chargesheet on March 8 and issued an arrest warrant against Benazir. The ACC case, filed on December 15, 2024, accuses him of acquiring wealth beyond known income, concealing asset information and money laundering.
According to the chargesheet, Benazir declared assets worth Tk 121.9 million, but investigators found assets worth Tk 156.8 million. His lawful income was Tk 65.9 million and net savings Tk 46.3 million, leaving Tk 110 million allegedly beyond known sources.
The chargesheet said, “Benazir Ahmed concealed the illegal source, nature, and ownership of these funds and invested, transferred, and converted them through various bank accounts, business entities, and joint capital ventures.”