New case filed against former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina over murder of two students

Dhaka: Another murder case was filed on Sunday against Bangladesh's deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina over the death of two college students during the recent anti-quota protests in the country.

It was the latest in the slew of cases filed against the 76-year-old former premier, who resigned and fled to India on August 5 following a massive protest by students against a controversial quota system in government jobs.

The case was filed against Hasina and 12 others over the murder of two students in Dhaka's Sutrapur area during the violence that led to her ouster.

It was filed with the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Torikul Islam over the killing of Kobi Nazrul Govt College student Ikram Hossain Kawser and Shaheed Suhrawardi College student Omar Faruk, state-run BSS news agency reported.

The two students were gunned down in separate incidents by police and the Awami League supporters as they were staging protests along with hundreds of others in front of the Kobi Nazrul Govt College and Shaheed Suhrawardi College on July 19.

This takes the tally of cases filed against Hasina to 12, including nine for murder, one for abduction, and two for committing crimes against humanity and genocide in Bangladesh.

Over 230 people were killed in the incidents of violence that erupted across the country following the fall of the Hasina-led Awami League government, taking the death toll to more than 600 since the massive protest by students first started in mid-July.

The other accused in the case include Awami League General Secretary and former minister Obaidul Quader, Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, former foreign minister Hasan Mahmud and former education minister Mohibul Hassan Chowdhoury Nowfel, bdnews24.com news portal reported.

Former state minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak, Deputy Inspector General of Dhaka Range Syed Nurul Islam, former IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, former DB chief Harunor Rashid, Additional Joint Commissioner Biplob Kumar Sarkar, and DMP Commissioner Habibur Rahman were also among those named in the case.

Another 200-250 unnamed people, including leaders and activists of Awami League and its front organisations, were accused in the case, according to the report.

An interim government was formed after the fall of the Hasina regime, and 84-year-old Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was appointed as its Chief Adviser.