Sheikh Hasina's government has been accused of widespread human rights violations. (Dossier)
Dhaka:
A Bangladeshi court on Tuesday opened an investigation into the killing of ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and six top figures in her government by police, which left a man dead during unrest last month.
Hasina, 76, fled by helicopter to neighboring India a week ago, where she remains, as protesters flooded the streets of Dhaka, marking a dramatic end to her iron-fisted regime.
During the weeks of unrest leading up to her fall, more than 450 people were killed.
“A case has been filed against Sheikh Hasina and six others,” said Mamun Mia, a lawyer who filed the case on behalf of a citizen.
He added that the Dhaka court had ordered police to take up “murder cases against the accused”, the first step in a criminal investigation under Bangladesh law.
The application filed by Mia in court also names Hasina's former interior minister, Asaduzzaman Khan, and Obaidul Quader, the secretary general of Hasina's Awami League party.
Also named are four top police officers appointed by Hasina's government who have since left.
The seven are accused in the case of being responsible for the death of a supermarket owner who was shot dead on July 19 by police violently suppressing protests.
According to the Daily Star newspaper, the case was filed on behalf of Amir Hamza Shatil, a resident of the neighborhood where the shooting took place and a “well-wisher” to the victim.
– 'We do not deny this' –
Hasina's government has been accused of widespread human rights violations, including the extrajudicial killing of thousands of its political opponents.
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus returned from Europe three days after Hasina's ouster to lead a caretaker government facing the daunting challenge of implementing democratic reforms.
The 84-year-old won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his pioneering work in microfinance and has been praised for helping millions of Bengalis out of abject poverty.
He took office as “chief adviser” to an interim government – all civilians except Interior Minister Sakhawat Hossain, a retired brigadier general – and has said he wants to hold elections “within a few months.”
Hossain said on Monday that the government has no plans to ban Hasina's Awami League, which played a crucial role in the country's independence movement.
“The party has contributed a lot to Bangladesh, we do not deny that,” he told reporters on Monday.
“When the elections come, they should participate in the elections.”
AFP has contacted the interim board for comment.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Our staff and is published via a syndicated feed.)
