After 15 months of investigation, the police have submitted a charge sheet to the Sirajganj Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in connection with the killing of three Bangladesh Nationalist Party activists during the 2024 mass uprising that led to the fall of the Awami League government.
The charge sheet was submitted on November 6.
Sohanur Rahman Ranjoo, a leader of the Jatiyatabadi Juba Dal, the youth wing of the BNP, was among those killed.
Deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, also the president of the Awami League, along with the party鈥檚 general secretary Obaidul Quader, also former road transport and bridges minister, have been accused of direct and indirect involvement in the killings.
The charge sheet names 447 other accused, including former member of parliament Jannat Ara Talukder Henry, her husband and former district council chairman Shamim Talukder Labu, former MP Habibe Millat Munna, former water resources secretary Kabir Bin Anwar, district Awami League president KM Hossain Ali Hasan, general secretary Abdus Samad Talukder, former mayor Syed Abdur Rahman Mukta, and former public prosecutor advocate Abdur Rahman.
Among them, 16 people, including Jannat, Shamim and Rahman, are currently in custody, while 433 others remain absconding, as shown in the charge sheet submitted by sub-inspectors Shariful Islam and Pronoy Kumar Pramanik, the investigating officers of the case.
Although the charge sheet has been accepted by Senior Judicial Magistrate KM Shahriar Khan Bappi, the trial has yet to begin since the original case documents are currently at the District and Sessions Judge Court for bail hearings.
Sirajganj police station officer-in-charge Mokhlesur Rahman and investigating officer Md Ahsanuzzaman confirmed the development, saying that Sheikh Hasina, Obaidul Quader, and 447 others had been charged in connection with the killings during anti-quota protests that later turned into the mass uprising.
They added that 34 individuals were excluded from the final charge sheet 鈥� nine, including Sirajganj City Awami League president Daniul Haque Dani, died, while the others were omitted due to duplication or incorrect identification.
Court inspector Mohammad Rowshan Yazdani stated, 鈥極nce the case documents are returned to the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, the trial proceedings will begin.鈥�
On August 4, 2024, during the student-led mass uprising, violent clashes erupted in the Sirajganj town.
Activists of Awami League, activities of which are now suspended, Juba League, the youth wing of the AL, and banned Chhatra League, student wing of the AL, allegedly attacked demonstrators, killing Sohanur and two other BNP activists Abdul Latif and Suman Sheikh.
Following the incident, three separate murder cases were filed by the victims鈥� families 鈥� Sohanur鈥檚 wife Mousumi Khatun, Latif鈥檚 sister Saleha Khatun and Suman鈥檚 father Ganjer Ali Sheikh.
The cases were filed with the Sirajganj Sadar Police Station on August 22, 2024, naming 463 identified and about 450 unidentified accused.
During the investigation, several suspects, including Jannat and Shamim, were remanded for interrogation.
Later, allegations surfaced that police officials had taken bribes during their custody.
Those accused of misconduct included former officer-in-charge Humayun Kabir, ex-investigation officer Abdul Majid, his son-in-law former sub-inspector Monirul Islam, and Shahin Mahmud.
Following complaints to the Police Headquarters, the issue was investigated by additional superintendent of police Ziaur Rahman, who submitted a report to the department.
However, the investigation report has not yet been made public.
