Five more murder cases filed against ousted Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina

DHAKA: Five more murder cases have been filed against Bangladesh’s ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina taking the total number of cases filed against the Awami League leader to 71, a media report said on Tuesday.

Four of the new cases were filed in Dhaka and one in Rajshahi against the 76-year-old deposed former prime minister, several former ministers and police officials, The Daily Star newspaper reported.

In the first case, Hasina and 48 others were booked for the death of one Dulal alias Selim in the city’s Jatrabari area on August 3 during mass protests.

The victim’s brother Mostafa Kamal filed the case against the Awami League president and others with the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Saddam Hossain.

Former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader, former Awami League lawmakers Shamim Osman and Ramesh Chandra are among the accused, The Daily Star said.

In the second case, Hasina along with 21 others was booked on the charge of killing one Mansur Miah, a machine operator of Buriganga Filling Station at Basila of Mohammadpur on July 19.

In the third case, Hasina and 91 others were sued for the death of one Miraz Hossain at Sanarpar in the city's Demra area on August 5.

The victim's brother Khorshed Alam filed the case with the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Belal Hossain.

The fourth case was filed against Hasina and 40 others for the death of 21-year-old Nahidul Islam at Mirpur-10 on July 19.

The victim's brother Md Sabuj filed the case with the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mehedi Hasan.

Quader, Asaduzzaman, Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, Hasina's sister Sheikh Rehana, son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, Harun Or Rashid and former DMP commissioner are among the accused.

In Rajshahi, SM Salahuddin Ahmmed Shamim Sarkar, a member of Bagha upazila Chhatra Dal in Rajshahi, filed a case against Hasina, former state minister for foreign affairs Shahriar Alam and 52 others, said Bagha police station's officer-in-charge Abu Siddque.

The number of cases filed against Hasina has risen to 71 with four new cases filed in Dhaka, the report said.

Hasina resigned and fled to India on August 5 after unprecedented anti-government student-led protests against her government over a controversial quota system in jobs.

The Hasina-led government was replaced by an interim government, and 84-year-old Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was named its Chief Adviser.

Over 230 people were killed in Bangladesh in the incidents of violence that erupted across the country following the fall of the Hasina government, taking the death toll to more than 600 since the massive protest by students against a controversial quota system in government jobs first started in mid-July.