A murder case has been filed against Bangladesh's ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and six others in connection with the death of a grocery store owner during violent clashes last month, media reports said on Tuesday. This is the first case filed against Hasina, 76, who resigned and fled to India last week following widespread protests against her government's controversial quota system.
According to the Dhaka Tribune, the case was filed by the well-wishers of Abu Sayed, the grocery store owner who died in police firing during a rally in support of the quota movement on July 19 in Mohammadpur.
The other accused include Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and former Police Inspector General Chaudhary Abdullah Al Mamun. Several high-ranking police officers and government officials have also been named in the case.
The violence that erupted across Bangladesh after Hasina's government fell on August 5 has claimed over 230 lives, taking the total death toll in the quota protests since mid-July to 560.
An interim government has been formed in Bangladesh, with 84-year-old Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus as its chief advisor. Yunus announced his 16-member advisory council last week.
Seven political parties, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), met Yunus separately on Monday and said the interim government could take necessary time to create a conducive environment for free and fair elections, the Daily Star reported.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said, "We have given this interim government the necessary time to create a conducive environment for elections." Alamgir added that they did not discuss elections and did not mention any specific timeframe for holding the next polls. He said the BNP is fully supporting all activities of the interim government.
Sources said the party requested Yunus to withdraw all cases filed against its leaders, including party chief Khaleda Zia and acting chairman Tarique Rahman. Hasina's ouster led to the release of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, 79, who was sentenced to 17 years in prison in 2018 for corruption.
