Another murder case filed against ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

Former Bangladesh PM Shaikh Hasina. File pic

The latest in a string of legal actions against Bangladesh's former prime minister Sheikh Hasina since her removal from office is a new murder complaint that was filed against her on Friday in relation to the death of a teacher.

Obaidul Quader, the general secretary of the Awami League, and 99 other party activists and local officials are also named in the Bogura lawsuit. The accusations concern the August 4, 2024, assassination of 35-year-old Selim Hossain, a resident of Palikanda village in Shibganj upazila, reported PTI.

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According to the PTI report, it is said that Hossain was taking part in a student-led demonstration in the Satmatha neighbourhood of Bogura when supporters of the Awami League attacked the protestors. Hossain's brother claimed in the complaint that Awami League members ordered Hossain to be savagely hacked to death with sharp weapons by Hasina and Quader.

This case intensifies the growing judicial pressure on Sheikh Hasina, who on August 5 fled to India following her forced resignation due to large-scale student demonstrations against a government job quota scheme, reported the news agency.

According to the report, following her removal, multiple cases have been brought against her. On August 13, a murder charge pertaining to the death of a grocery store owner during the violent clashes last month was filed, and on August 14, a case of enforced disappearance was filed concerning the 2015 kidnapping of a lawyer.

Since the anti-quota protests started in mid-July, there have been over 560 deaths from the turmoil that ended in Hasina's administration falling, with over 230 dead from the violence that followed her departure, the news agency report stated.

Sheikh Hasina and nine other people are the subject of an inquiry by Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal on allegations of genocide and crimes against humanity committed during the student movement against her government. Next week, a group of UN specialists will travel to Bangladesh to look into the protester deaths that occurred both before and after Hasina's resignation, the report stated.

After the Hasina-led Government fell, an interim government was formed, with 84-year-old Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus serving as Chief Adviser.