One year after the July 2024 student-led mass uprising that overthrew Sheikh Hasina鈥檚 16-year authoritarian regime, investigations into the violence and killings remain slow and scattered.
According to the Police Headquarters, 1,730 cases were filed over atrocities, including 749 murder cases, during the uprising under 42 police units in districts and metropolitan cities.
Yet, police have submitted charge sheets in only 15 cases, of which five are for murders.
Sheikh Hasina, in exile in India since the uprising peaked on August 5, 2024, her former cabinet colleagues, party colleagues, top law enforcement members of her tenure, and other professionals loyal to the Awami League and its associate bodies, and their many political allies, remain the main accused repeatedly in those cases 鈥� both for giving direct orders and for command responsibilities.
Most of the accused in those cases remain in hiding.
Inspector general of Police Baharul Alam admitted to 抖阴精品 that investigations 鈥� particularly in murder cases 鈥� were slow due to a lack of physical evidence.
鈥榃e depend mostly on digital footage, which needs forensic verification from the CID [Criminal Investigation Department]. To handle all these cases swiftly, we鈥檇 need over 1,000 officers 鈥� a number that鈥檚 not available practically,鈥� he said.
However, he also emphasised the need to avoid wrongful prosecution. 鈥榃e don鈥檛 want to frame any聽 innocent person.鈥�
Among the five murder cases, three were filed in Sherpur, one in Kurigram, and one in Chattogram.
Other cases on different charges include one each in Dhaka and Barishal metropolitan areas, three in Chapainawabganj, two in Sirajganj, and one in Pabna. Two were investigated by the Police Bureau of Investigation.
Senior police officials said that people were indiscriminately named in many cases, complicating investigations and slowing down progress.
Alongside police cases, the two International Crimes Tribunals have received over 500 complaints on crimes against humanity, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings committed during the crackdown on the uprising.
The ICT Investigation Agency has selected 62 complaints for formal investigation so far.
Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam told 抖阴精品 that priority was being given to ICT cases as the interim government, led by Professor Muhammad Yunus, was intent on having completed some major cases over crimes against humanity during the uprising before the general elections expected in February 2026.
Four cases have, meanwhile, been moved to the ICT for trial. These include the murder of student Abu Sayeed of Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur, the killing of six people at Chankharpool in the capital, and the murder of six others in Ashulia.
In all three cases, Sheikh Hasina, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, and ex-IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun were originally named under command responsibility.
However, their names were later excluded from those specific charges, as they are being tried separately for similar nationwide crimes.
One ICT investigator said that the Abu Sayeed case was also being tried in a Rangpur court, but that might be halted since the accused are already under a tribunal trial.
Under the ICT law, Tajul clarified, if a regular court receives a case also under trial in the tribunal, the tribunal prosecutor may request a transfer.
鈥楾here will be no question of double jeopardy. If the same accused are named in cases in two courts, only one court will conduct the trial,鈥� he said.
As of August 3, 2025, prisons are holding 165 high-profile individuals accused in July鈥揂ugust cases, according to Additional IG of Prisons Jahangir Kabir.
They include 78 government officials, 42 leaders of the Awami League, 39 former AL lawmakers, and 6 others.
Legal experts warn that delays in investigating mass cases 鈥� especially those implicating several hundred police officers 鈥� are enabling some accused to secure bail due to lack of charges.
They also said that it would be difficult for investigators to prove the cases in which several hundred people were made accused.
Human rights lawyer ZI Khan Panna, however, expressed concern over the courts which refrained from entertaining bail petitions from politicians, law enforcement officers, and professionals arbitrarily accused in mass murder cases filed during the interim government of Professor Muhammad Yunus.
Panna criticised this as injustice and discrimination and contrary to the student-people movement against discrimination highlighting the disparity in judicial treatment based on the nature of the accused.
Former senior judicial magistrate and lawyer Azizur Rahman Dulu said that certain groups were being denied access to legal recourse, despite the installation of a neutral government following the student-led movement that overthrew tyrant Sheikh Hasina鈥檚 administration on August 5, 2024.
Officials confirmed that fresh cases were still being filed over the atrocities during the uprising, with Dhaka police stations reporting the highest number so far.
Human rights groups and legal experts have long warned of mass accusations and arbitrary arrests in the aftermath of the July鈥揂ugust uprising. Many people have been named in cases without clear evidence.
Some of the accused remain in hiding, fearing wrongful imprisonment.
In response to widespread concerns over arbitrary arrests and mass accusations following the 2024 July uprising, the interim government on July 10, 2025, gazetted an ordinance amending the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, allowing for the submission of interim investigation reports.
Under the ordinance, a police commissioner, district superintendent of police, or any officer of equal rank supervising a case can now instruct the investigating officer to submit a progress report during the course of investigation.
If the interim report shows that there is insufficient evidence against any accused, the supervising officer may direct the investigation officer to submit a formal request to the magistrate or tribunal for that person to be discharged from the case.
The magistrate or tribunal may then order the discharge, if satisfied with the report, while allowing the investigation to continue against the remaining accused.
Earlier, the interim government also issued a circular instructing law enforcers to avoid arbitrary arrests in these politically sensitive cases. The recent ordinance is seen as a follow-up to that directive, offering a legal mechanism to correct overreach and uphold due process.
