A Dhaka court on Monday asked police to submit by December 9 the probe report of the case filed against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and six others over the death of a grocery shop owner, Abu Saeed, in police firing in Dhaka's Mohammadpur area during quota reform protests on July 19.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Akhtaruzzaman set the date after Md Moktaruzzaman, an inspector of Detective Branch of Police and also the investigation officer of the case, failed to submit any report.
The other accused are Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun, former DB (Dhaka Metropolitan Police) chief Harun Or Rashid, former DMP commissioner Habibur Rahman, and former DMP joint commissioner Biplob Kumar Sarker.
On August 13, SM Amir Hamza Shatil, a resident of Mohammadpur, filed the murder case with the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Rajesh Chowdhury.
This is the first case lodged against Hasina after she resigned and fled to India amid a mass uprising on August 5.
After a hearing, the magistrate recorded the complainant's statement and directed the officer-in-charge of Mohammadpur Police Station to register the complaint as a first information report (FIR).
In the case, several unnamed top police officials and other government officials have also been accused, Mamun Mia, a lawyer for the complainant, told The Daily Star.
The complainant was not the relative of the victim, he filed the case voluntarily, he added.
In his complaint, Shatil mentioned that Sayed was killed around 4:00pm on July 19 when police were firing indiscriminately on the protesters, following the accused's directives.
Former home minister Asaduzzaman ordered police to open fire on the demonstrators, read the complaint.
The victim's family members, who are very poor, live in Boda upazila of Panchagarh. They do not have the ability to file the case, he mentioned in the complaint.
Hasina is now facing 233 cases, including 202 for murders, 16 for crimes against humanity and genocide, three for abduction, 11 for attempted murder and one for attack on a BNP procession.
Abdullah Al Mamun, former social welfare minister Dipu Moni and former deputy sports minister Arif Khan Joy were arrested in connection with the case, and they were placed on different terms of remand for quizzing about the incident.
