Staff Correspondent:
The High Court has formed a high-level committee consisting of five secretaries to identify and officially recognise those who protested the assassination of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family members in 1975.
The bench of Justice Naima Haider and Justice Kazi Zinat Hoque issued the order after hearing a writ petition on Monday.
The Liberation War affairs secretary, home secretary, social welfare secretary and finance secretary are on the committee. The committee has been asked to submit a report to the court by Aug 4.
Advocate Bakir Uddin Bhuiyan, accompanied by lawyer Kazi Tamanna Ferdous, stood for the petitioners at the hearing, while Deputy Attorney General Amit Das Gupta represented the state.
Bangabandhu and his family members were killed on Aug 15, 1975. After the murders, the military government of that time banned protests and rallies. Despite the restriction, protests were held in Netrokona, Kishoreganj, Narsingdi, Khulna, Chandpur’s Faridganj and Mymensingh’s Gafargaon.
Two armed resistance forces titled Jatiya Mukti Bahini and Jatiya Mujib Bahini were formed in 1975. Thousands of Bangabandhu supporters, including students, youths and freedom fighters, joined these forces and acted as an armed resistance against the ruling government.
Five resistance fighters started the writ petition in 2022 as the protesters have not received state recognition in the 47 years since the assassination. The court issued a rule after initially hearing the petition on Aug 7, 2022. After the final hearing, the high-level committee was formed.
Court indicts AL leader Ashraf, 32 others for murders of AL leader Tipu, student Prity murder
Staff Correspondent
A Dhaka court has indicted Dhaka South Awami League Organising Secretary Ashraf Talukder and 32 others over the murders of Awami League leader Jahidul Islam Tipu and college student Samia Afrin Prity, clearing the way for the trial.
Judge Ali Hossain of the Dhaka Special Judge’s Court-3 indicted the suspects on Monday and scheduled the first hearing for May 21.
The suspects pleaded not guilty and sought justice, said Public Prosecutor Rafique Uddin Bacchu.
Jahidul Islam Tipu, 54, a former leader of the Awami League’s Motijheel unit, was shot dead in the street in Shahjahanpur on Mar 24, 2022. Samia, a 22-year-old bystander, died when she was hit by a stray bullet. Tipu’s driver Munna was also shot.
Tipu’s wife Farzana Islam Dolly, a local councillor of the city corporation, subsequently filed a case against unidentified suspects with the Shahjahanpur Police Station the next day.
She alleged that Tipu had received a death threat over the phone a few days before he was killed.
Later, police detectives arrested Masum Mohammad Akash as a suspect in the case, describing him as a “contract killer” who had been hired to kill Tipu.
Meanwhile, several Awami League leaders were implicated in a confessional statement given by Musa.
Police charged 33 people over the shooting deaths of Tipu and Prity on Jun 5, 2023.
The charges were filed in court after a lengthy investigation. The list of suspects also included local Awami League, Chhatra League and Jubo League leaders, according to Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch.
The DB investigation found the involvement of 34 people in the incident. One of the suspects, known as XL Sohail, was not named in the chargesheet as his identity could not be confirmed.
As many as 26 suspects were arrested at different times. Currently, 20 of them are in jail. At least eight of them are out on bail while six – Jisan Ahmed Montu, Md Manik, Md Rifat, Md Sohel, Md Aminul, and Md Kamruzzaman – are absconding.
Musa, Akash and Nasiruddin have given confessional statements in the case.