The prosecution of the International Crimes Tribunals on Monday submitted formal charges against 30 individuals over the killing of Begum Rokeya University student Abu Sayeed in Rangpur during the July 2024 mass uprising.
Those charged include former Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur vice-chancellor Hasibur Rashid, 11 university teachers and staff, eight police officers, one physician, and nine activists of then ruling party Awami League鈥檚 student wing Bangladesh Chhatra League.
The prosecution accused them of committing crimes against humanity, including the murder of Abu Sayeed, torture of student protesters, and other inhuman acts linked to the Students Against Discrimination movement in July 2024.
The investigation also found evidence that ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, and former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun had instigated and ordered the crimes through superior command responsibility.
However, they were not named among the 30 accused in the case as they have already been indicted in a separate ICT case for coordinated attacks during the movement.
Abu Sayeed, a student of English at BRUR, was shot dead on July 16, 2024 on the campus during student protests.
A widely circulated video showed him standing on the street with his arms and legs spread before being hit by a police bullet and collapsing. Investigators said that he was shot at a close range with a pipe-gun.
His killing is one of five charges brought in a separate ICT case against Hasina, now staying in India, and Asaduzzaman Khan and Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun.
The International Crimes Tribunal-1, chaired by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder, is scheduled to begin hearings today on the charge-framing process in the separate case.
Asaduzzaman Khan is absconding while Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun is in custody.
On June 1, prosecutors formally submitted charges in that case, accusing the three of abetment, instigation, facilitation, conspiracy, and superior responsibility for the nationwide crackdown on unarmed protesters during the mass uprising.
Meanwhile, the International Crimes Tribunal-2, headed by Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, with retired judge Md Manjurul Bashid and sitting judge Nur Mohammad Shahriar Kabir as the tribunal judges, has taken cognisance of the Abu Sayeed case 鈥攊ts first case for trial鈥� and set July 10 for the next hearing.
The tribunal also issued arrest warrants for 26 of the accused, who remain at large. It directed the inspector general of police to ensure their arrests and to submit a compliance report on the next hearing date.
Four other accused in the case are already in custody. They are Shariful Islam, associate professor and former proctor of BRUR, BCL leader Imran Chowdhury Akash, sub-inspector Amir Hossain, and constable Sujan Chandra Roy.
The tribunal ordered the prison authorities to show them formally arrested in this case as well.
Earlier chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam presented excerpts from a 130-page formal charge filed over the murder of Abu Sayeed.
One of the 30 accused, Dr Sanowar Hossain was a forensic expert at Rangpur Medical College and a member of the Awami League-backed doctors鈥� platform Swadhinata Chikitsak Parishad, Swachip in short.
The prosecution alleged that Dr Sarowar prepared a false post-mortem report, stating that Sayeed died of injuries 鈥� instead of mentioning that he was shot dead at a close range.
Investigation Agency officer Ruhul Amin, a senior superintendent of police, submitted the probe report to the chief prosecutor鈥檚 office on June 26. A total of 64 witnesses have been listed, including a child who first reached Abu Sayeed after he was shot. The accused police personnel include former Rangpur Metropolitan Police commissioners Md Moniruzzaman and Md Abu Maruf Hossain, former RMP ADC Md Shah Nur Alam Patwari, now a superintendent of police, RMP assistant commissioner Md Arifuzzaman (Kotwali Zone), Tajhat police station OC Rabiul Islam, BRUR campus outpost sub-inspector Bibhuti Bhusan Roy, assistant sub-inspector Amir Ali, and constable Sujan Chandra Roy.
The 12 university personnel charged include former BRUR vice-chancellor Hasibur Rashid, proctor Shariful Islam, associate professor of mathematics Md Mashiur Rahman, associate professor of public administration Asaduzzaman Mondal,聽 and staff members Nurunnabi and Rafiul Hasan Rasel from the proctor鈥檚 office.
The names of six other accused BRUR employees could not be confirmed. Investigators found that the VC and other officials facilitated the attack, while proctor Shariful himself assaulted students with a stick during the protest.
Among the accused BCL leaders are BRUR Chhatra League president Pomel Barua, general secretary Shamim Mahfuz, organising secretary Dhanojoy Kumar Tagore, and office secretary Babul Hossain.
The names of five other BCL leaders could not be independently verified.
Four officials, though initially named in the ICT complaint, were dropped from the formal charges. They are Rangpur DIG Md Abdul Baten, RMP AC Md Al Imran Hossain, SI Tariqul Islam, who wrote the inquest report, and executive magistrate Ahmed Sadat, who signed the same report.
On January 13, 2025, Abu Sayeed鈥檚 brother Ramjan Ali filed a complaint with the ICT prosecutor鈥檚 office against 24 individuals, including Asaduzzaman Khan and Abdullah Al-Mamun, alleging crimes against humanity by over 130 unidentified people.
On August 18, 2024 Ramjan Ali filed another complaint against the same 24 accused with the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Rangpur.
Earlier Police also filed a murder case on July 16, 2024 with the Tajhat police station against unknown persons after Sayeed鈥檚 death.
All three cases were merged and investigated as one, investigator Ruhul Amin told 抖阴精品 on Monday.
Of the 24 originally named accused, six 鈥� including former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, former IGP Abdullah Al-Mamun, and the four police officers 鈥� were dropped from the formal charges.
Meanwhile, 12 new individuals, including Dr Sanowar Hossain, were included in the formal charges, he added.
The identities of 11 other accused could not be confirmed.
Abu Sayeed鈥檚 murder is one of five crimes listed in a separate formal case against Sheikh Hasina, Asaduzzaman Khan, and former IGP Abdullah Al-Mamun.