A Bangladesh court on Tuesday launched a murder investigation against ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and six top officials of her administration over the killing of a man by police during civil unrest last month.
Hasina, 76, fled by helicopter a week ago to neighbouring India, where she still lives, as protesters took over the streets of Dhaka, bringing a dramatic end to her hard-line tenure.
More than 450 people were killed during weeks of unrest before he was ousted.
“A case has been filed against Sheikh Hasina and six others,” said Mamun Mia, a lawyer who brought the case on behalf of a private citizen.
He said the Dhaka Metropolitan Court had ordered the police to “accept a murder case against the accused persons”, which is the first step in a criminal investigation under Bangladeshi law.
The application filed by Mia in the court also named Hasina’s former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan and Obaidul Quader, general secretary of Hasina’s Awami League party.
It also includes the names of four top police officers appointed by the Hasina government, who have now resigned from their posts.
Seven people have been accused in the case of being responsible for the death of a grocery store owner, who was shot dead by police on July 19 when they were violently suppressing the protests.
The Daily Star newspaper reported that the case was brought by Amir Hamza Shatil, a resident of the area where the shooting took place and a “well-wisher” of the victim.
– ‘We do not deny it’ –
Hasina’s government has been accused of widespread human rights abuses, including the extrajudicial killings of thousands of her political opponents.
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus returned from Europe three days after Hasina’s ouster to head a transitional administration that faces the challenge of pushing through democratic reforms.
The 84-year-old received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his pioneering work in microfinance, and is credited with lifting millions of Bangladeshis out of poverty.
He took over as “chief adviser” of the caretaker administration – which comprises all civilians except Home Minister Sakhawat Hussain, a retired brigadier general – and has said he wants to hold elections “within a few months”.
Hussain on Monday said the government had no intention of banning Hasina’s Awami League, which played a key role in the country’s independence movement.
“The party has made many contributions to Bangladesh – we do not deny that,” he told reporters on Monday.
“When the elections come, he should contest.”
AFP has contacted the caretaker administration for comment.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
