Bangladesh court opens murder case against ex-premier Sheikh Hasina

A court in Bangladesh opened Tuesday a murder investigation into ousted ex-premier Sheikh Hasina and six top figures in her administration over the police killing of a man during civil unrest last month.

Hasina, 76, fled by helicopter a week ago to neighbouring India as protesters flooded Dhaka’s streets in a dramatic end to her iron-fisted tenure.

“A case has been filed against Sheikh Hasina and six more,” said Mamun Mia, a lawyer who brought the case on behalf of a private citizen.

He added that the Dhaka Metropolitan Court had ordered police to accept “the murder case against the accused persons”, the first step in a criminal investigation under Bangladeshi law.

Mia’s filing with the court also named Hasina’s former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan and Obaidul Quader, the general secretary of Hasina’s Awami League party.

In addition it named four top police officers appointed by Hasina’s government who have since vacated their posts, including former police inspector general Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun.

It also named detective branch chief Harun-or-Rashid, and senior Dhaka Metropolitan Police officers Habibur Rahman and Biplob Kumar Sarker.