Bangladesh crisis: Murder case filed against former PM Sheikh Hasina, 6 others

Sheikh Hasina

A murder case has been filed against former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is currently in India after resigning from her role following widespread protests against her government over a controversial quota system in jobs. The case has been registered against Hasina and six others in connection with the killing of a grocer shop owner in police firing on July 19, local media reported.

The shop owner, named Abu Sayeed, was found dead in Dhaka's Mohammadpur area.

This is the first case against Hasina since she resigned as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh on August 5 and fled to India.

Besides Hasina, the other accused are Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, former inspector general of police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, former DB chief Harun Or Rashid, former DMP commissioner Habibur Rahman and former DMP joint commissioner Biplob Kumar Sarker, according to a report by The Daily Star.

A resident of Mohammadpur named Amir Hamza Shatil, who is also well-wisher of the victim, filed the case against Hasina as well as others with the Court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Rajesh Chowdhury.

Shatil, in his complaint, stated that Abu Sayeed was killed in the evening of July 19, when police was firing indiscriminately at students and common people during quota protests.

Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus took oath as the head of Bangladesh's interim government following Hasina's exit. He was administered the oath of office by President Mohammed Shahabuddin at a ceremony in Dhaka.

Hasina's son Sajeeb Wazed Joy has said that his mother will be back in the country as soon as democracy is restored and  blamed Pakistan's intelligence agency, ISI, for fuelling the ongoing unrest in the country.

In an exclusive interview with PTI, Joy said that although 76-year-old Hasina would definitely return to Bangladesh, it has not yet been decided whether she will be back as a "retired or active" politician.