Mugdha, 10 Others Killed: Court to Rule Today on Charges Against Habib Hasan, 25 Others
The International Crimes Tribunal-2 will deliver its order today on whether to formally frame charges against 26 accused, including former Dhaka-18 MP Mohammad Habib Hasan, in a crimes against humanity case over the killing of 11 people, including Mir Mugdha, in Uttara during the July mass uprising.
The order is scheduled for Sunday (October 11) before the tribunal’s judicial panel headed by Chairman Justice Md Nazrul Islam Chowdhury. The order was initially scheduled for September 23 but was deferred due to the illness of Judge Md Manzurul Bashid.
Of the 26 accused, eight have been arrested and are in jail. They are former Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Uttara Division Mirza Salahuddin; former officer-in-charge of Uttara East Police Station Md Mojibur Rahman; former constable of Azampur Police Outpost Md Hossain Ali; Uttara East Thana Awami League President Monowar Islam Chowdhury Robin; Jubo League leader Md Delwar Hossain Rubel; Awami League leader Md Sohel Rana; Swechchhasebak League leader Md Shah Alam; and Awami League activist Md Irfanul Haque Gazi.
The absconding accused include former MP Habib Hasan, former police commissioner Habibur Rahman, former deputy commissioner of police of the Uttara Division Kazi Ashraful Azim, and several other former police officials. Several leaders of the Awami League, Jubo League and Chhatra League, as well as former councillors of Dhaka North City Corporation, are also accused in the case.
According to the prosecution, 11 people were killed in police firing in Uttara on July 18 and 19, 2024, during efforts to suppress the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement.
Among the victims was Mir Mahfuzur Rahman Mugdha, a student of Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP). On July 18, he was shot while distributing water and biscuits among protesters and helping take the injured to hospitals.
The first charge alleges that seven people, including Mugdha, were killed in Uttara on July 18. It also alleges that Uber driver Mokhlesur Rahman, also known as Durjoy, was crushed under the wheels of an armoured police vehicle and that his body was later dumped in the Turag River. Five others were allegedly shot and seriously injured in an attempt to kill them.
The second charge alleges that four more people were killed in firing in the same area on July 19, while another person was shot and seriously injured in an alleged attempt to kill him.
The prosecution claims the incidents formed part of a planned and systematic attack amounting to crimes against humanity.
Proceedings in the case initially began at Tribunal-1 before being transferred to Tribunal-2. The prosecution has petitioned the tribunal to frame charges against all 26 accused. If the charges are framed, the formal trial will begin.
