The Liberation War Affairs Ministry has cancelled the recognition of 128 individuals listed as ‘July fighters’ in a gazette.
In a press release issued on Wednesday, the ministry said that the names were cancelled because some of the listed individuals were not injured in the July uprising that led to the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League regime, some were not involved in the uprising, and some names appeared in multiple gazettes.
‘Legal action will be taken against all those who fraudulently listed themselves as ‘July fighters’ and have embezzled government funds,’ the release said.
Based on recommendations from district committees, the ministry cancelled 21 names from Mymensingh division, 27 from Sylhet, 39 from Chattogram, nine from Khulna, three from Rangpur, 14 from Dhaka, 13 from Rajshahi, and two from Barishal.
Of them, 23 individuals were removed because their names had been published twice in the gazette, while 105 were found not to have been involved in or injured during the uprising.
Before the new changes, there were 13,800 gazetted ‘July fighters’, according to the ministry.
Earlier, in a notification issued on August 3, the ministry cancelled the recognition of eight individuals listed as ‘July martyrs’ in a gazette.
The total number of ‘July martyrs’ announced through the gazette now stands at 836.
The government recognises those injured in the uprising as ‘July fighters’ and those killed as ‘July martyrs’ and provided them one-time and monthly financial allowances.
