According to media sources, a murder charge has been filed against Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and six others in connection with the death of a grocery store owner during last month’s violent clashes that led to the fall of her government.
Sheikh Hasina has been accused in a murder case
The murder case was the first brought against Hasina, 76, after she quit and fled to India last week after widespread protests against her Awami League-led administration over a controversial job quota scheme.
The case was filed by a supporter of grocery shop owner Abu Sayed, who was killed by police on July 19 during a quota reform procession in Mohammadpur, according to the Dhaka Tribune newspaper.
The other those charged are Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun, among others.
Furthermore, several unnamed high-ranking police and government officials were charged in the case, according to the article.
Over 230 people were killed in Bangladesh during the acts of violence that erupted across the country following the fall of the Hasina government on August 5, bringing the total death toll to 560 since the anti-quota rallies began in mid-July.
The interim administration was founded after the fall of the Hasina-led government, and its Chief Adviser, 84-year-old Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, unveiled the portfolios of his 16-member council of advisors last week.
BANGLADESH INTERIM GOVERNMENT
According to The Daily Star, seven political groups, including the Awami League’s arch-rival Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), met with Yunus separately on Monday and agreed that the interim administration may take the time needed to create a suitable climate for free and fair elections.
“We have given this interim government the time it needs to create a conducive environment for elections,” BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir (as mentioned in the report).
He stated that the BNP did not provide a particular time range for the next election.
He stated that the BNP fully supports all of the interim government’s efforts.