TDS Desk:

A total of 95 executive magistrates were deployed across areas of Dhaka Metropolitan and Dhaka District during the July uprising. Only seven among them reported information regarding firing by law enforcement agencies.

This information came from reviewing documents from the Dhaka District Magistrate’s Office. In response to a request from the Investigation Agency of the International Crimes Tribunal, which is investigating crimes against humanity committed during the July uprising, the Dhaka District Magistrate’s Office submitted these records on 30 January.

The documents show that 95 executive magistrates were on duty across various areas in Dhaka from 1 July to 5 August. Only seven of them reported incidents of firing by law enforcement under their jurisdiction. The rest marked “No” in the section asking for details like “if firing occurred, how many rounds were fired, and the type of weapons used.”

Prothom Alo attempted to contact all seven magistrates who reported firing incidents. Five of them responded, and claimed that they did not authorise the use of firearms. They said they were made to sign documents granting firing permission several days after the incidents, and at that point, they had no choice but to sign.

One of the executive magistrates, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Prothom Alo that firing occurred under his jurisdiction without his approval. However, there were no injuries or deaths. A few days after the event, he was asked to sign a document retrospectively authorising the firing.

Another magistrate, also requesting anonymity, said he was on duty for two days during the uprising. When asked about firing permissions, he suggested speaking to the Dhaka district magistrate.

Another magistrate apart from these five, anonymously stated that although his name appears in the official record, he was not actually present on field during the protests.

Attempts were made to reach Tanvir Ahmed, the Dhaka District Magistrate, for comments.

He did not answer phone calls or respond to text messages sent to his mobile.

THOUSANDS OF ROUNDS FIRED

According to the documents from the Dhaka District Magistrate’s Office, the tribunal’s investigation agency requested seven categories of information: Name and ID number of the executive magistrates; date, time, and location of deployment; number of bullets and type of weapons if firing took place; name and ID of the persons who used the weapons; details of any casualties; copy of any executive investigation reports and any other important information.

The documents mention 1132 bullets were fired, but no data of casualties was recorded.

A source from Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) stated that according to the First Information Reports (FIRs) of 28 cases filed with various DMP police stations during the uprising, nearly 25,000 bullets were fired in just four days.

According to the District Magistrate’s records, the highest number of firing occurred in Rampura area. Other locations of firings included Jatrabari, Agargaon, Mohammadpur, Mohakhali, Mohammadpur, Bijoy Sarani and Parliament areas. The names of those who fired are listed in the documents. The weapons used were mainly SMGs and RFLs.

An Officer in Charge (OC) of a DMP police station, who served during the uprising and spoke on condition of anonymity, said that a “complete shutdown” programme was announced on 18 July. Shortly afterwards, firing orders came directly from the top officials of police.

Source: prothom Alo