Abul Kalam Azad Majumder, deputy press secretary to the chief adviser, has said that there is no connection between the murder case against senior lawyer ZI Khan Panna and the interim government.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday at the Foreign Service Academy, he addressed questions about the case, saying: “The complainant mistakenly filed the case. The government is not involved in this matter at all. ZI Khan Panna himself has said that this case is not political, it may have arisen from personal reasons.”
Another deputy press secretary, Apurba Jahangir, said: “Filing a case is a democratic right, and we do not support mass filing of cases. You cannot stop someone from filing a case. When the complainant said that he does not know the accused, his name was removed.”
The press conference also featured the chief adviser’s assistant press secretaries, Nayeem Ali and Suchismita Tithi.
The case against ZI Khan Panna was filed on July 19, alleging he attempted to kill Ahadul Islam by shooting and assaulting him during the quota reform movement in government jobs.
Nearly three months later, on October 17, Ahadul's father, Md Baker, filed the case at Khilgaon Police Station, which lists a total of 180 accused individuals, with Panna named as number 94.
The incident sparked widespread criticism, with allegations suggesting the case was filed in retaliation for Panna's government criticism.
When contacted for comment, Panna sarcastically said: “I have objections to being the 94th accused among 180. If a case is to be filed, make me the number one accused. I have no doubt that this has happened due to the influence of some powerful individual.”
On Monday, Baker submitted an application to Khilgaon police station to have Panna’s name removed from the case, claiming it was included "by mistake."