A metropolitan magistrate court in Chattogram on Thursday accepted the charge sheet against 231 people, including former foreign minister Hasan Mahmud, former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed and former education minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury, in the case of killing shoe-shop employee Shahidul Islam Shahid during the July uprising in the port city.
This is the first charge sheet in a case related to the atrocities committed in Chattagram during the uprising.
Metropolitan magistrate Mohammad Mostafa accepted the charge sheet,聽 submitted by the investigation officer of the case, sub-inspector Md Faisal of Chandgaon police station, and ordered to initiate further proceedings, assistant public prosecutor Md Raihanul Wazed Chowdhury said.
Faisal submitted the charge sheet to the court鈥檚 prosecution branch on July 30, court officials said.
Besides Hasan Mahmud, Saifuzzaman and Mohibul, other accused people in the case include former Chattogram city mayors Rezaul Karim Chowdhury and AJM Nasir Uddin, former lawmakers ABM Fazle Karim Chowdhury, MA Latif, Abu Reza Muhammad Nezamuddin Nadwi, Mohiuddin Bacchu, Abdus Salam, Didarul Alam Didar, SM Al Mamun and Noman Al Mahmud, former city corporation ward councillors Jahar Lal Hazari, Esrarul Haque, Nur Mostafa Tinu, Pulak Khastagir, Salimullah Bacchu and Ziaul Haque Suman, and Chattogram city Awami League president Mahtab Uddin Chowdhury.
APP Raihanul said that the plaintiff filed a no-confidence petition against the charge sheet, which the court rejected before accepting it.
So far, 84 accused have been shown arrested in the case.
According to the case statement, on August 3, 2024, amid the student-people uprising, Shahidul, 37, was shot dead during clashes between two groups at Bahaddarhat under Chandgaon police station.
The victim鈥檚 brother, Shafiqul Islam, filed the case with Chandgaon police station on August 15.
Shafiqul stated that Shahid was killed by gunfire while returning home from work at about 7:30pm.
The killing occurred on the day when protesters attacked the residence of the then education minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury in the city鈥檚 Soloshohor area and the residence of then mayor Rezaul Karim Chowdhury at Bahaddarhat.
