Dhaka, Bangladesh — At least four new murder cases have been filed against Bangladesh’s deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her former cabinet ministers, and aides, escalating the legal troubles for the former leader amid ongoing political unrest. The cases, which surfaced on Sunday, include serious allegations connected to incidents dating back over a decade.
The most recent case was filed against the 76-year-old Hasina, former director-general of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) Gen Aziz Ahmed, and 11 others for the death of Abdur Rahim, a deputy assistant director of the then Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) in 2010. Rahim was accused in a case related to the Pilkhana massacre of 2010 and died in jail custody on July 29 of that year. The case was filed by Rahim’s son, Advocate Abdul Aziz, in the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Akteruzzaman.
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Additionally, another murder case was filed against Hasina and 48 others concerning the death of a student from the Military Institute of Science and Technology during the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement on July 18. The complaint, lodged by the victim Shaikh Ashabul Yeamin’s uncle, Abdullah-Al Kabir, was submitted to Dhaka Senior Judicial Magistrate Md Saiful Islam’s court. The court accepted the petition and directed the police to register the complaint as a first information report (FIR).
Further complicating matters, a separate case was lodged against Hasina and 27 others over the death of a seller associated with the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh during recent protests in Dhaka. The victim’s brother-in-law, Mamunur Rashid, filed the complaint with Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Saddam Hossain. Another similar case involving the death of an auto-rickshaw driver during the protests also includes Hasina among the 25 accused.
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The prominent figures accused alongside Hasina include Awami League General Secretary and former Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, and former ministers Anisul Huq and Tajul Islam.
Sheikh Hasina, the Awami League chairperson, now faces at least 53 legal cases, including 44 for murder, seven for crimes against humanity and genocide, one for abduction, and one for an attack on a Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) procession.
Following unprecedented anti-government student-led protests against a controversial job quota system, Hasina resigned and fled to India on August 5. The Hasina-led government was replaced by an interim administration, with 84-year-old Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus named as the Chief Adviser. The political unrest has led to significant violence across Bangladesh, with over 230 people killed since Hasina’s government fell, bringing the total death toll to more than 600 since the protests began in mid-July.
