17-year-old Hasnatul Islam Faiaz, accused in the murder case of police officer Gias Uddin during the quota reform movement protests in Dhaka, has been transferred to the juvenile court.
The decision comes after Faiaz’s lawyers successfully argued that he is a minor, based on birth records and educational certificates.
On Sunday at 3:30 pm, the court ordered Hasnatul Islam Faiaz to be handed over to his family after canceling his seven-day remand. However, as his lawyers did not receive this information in time, they filed a writ appeal to transfer him to the juvenile court.
Later, the court accepted the writ and sent him to the juvenile court.
On Saturday, a court remanded Demra Thana Chhatra Dal convenor Masud Rana and six others for seven days for interrogation in police custody. Among them was Dhaka College student Faiaz, whom his lawyers claim is under 18 years of age.
Md Mujahidul Islam, representing Faiaz, had opposed the remand petition and requested bail, arguing that Faiaz should not be remanded as he is a minor.
On Monday, Faiaz's lawyer, Estiyak Hossain, told Dhaka Tribune: “The High Court took cognizance of our writ to refer him to the Juvenile Court, declaring him to be a minor under the age of 18. But unfortunately, we did not receive the High Court order in time. As a result, even though we have the opportunity to hand him over to his family today, we cannot do so because, in the meantime, he has been sent to juvenile court on our application.”
He further said: “We hope to get an opportunity to hand him over to his family after the court order reaches us. We do not yet know the contents of that order. We look forward to receiving it.”
According to his birth registration, Hasanatul Islam Faiaz is a little over 17, having been born on April 19, 2007. He achieved a Golden A+ under the Dhaka Board in the 2024 SSC exams from Shamsul Haque Khan School and College in Dhaka.
Recently, he was listed as the 16th accused among 17 in a case related to the killing of a police officer near Matuail Hospital during the recent protest movement focusing on quota system reform in government jobs.
Faiaz was presented in a lower court in the capital on Saturday as an accused in the case filed on charges of the murder of a police officer, concealment of his body, and theft of his motorcycle. In the case file, Faiaz's age was listed as 19 years, and he was shown as a BNP Chhatra Dal activist.
His lawyer said: “According to the birth registration and SSC certificate, Faiaz is 17 years and 3 months old. When the police requested a 10-day remand for Faiaz, we filed a petition to cancel the remand due to his age and requested that the case be transferred to juvenile court.”
Faiaz's uncle, Hasnain Ahmed, said, “My nephew is a very talented boy. He got a Golden A+ in the SSC exam this time from the Dhaka Board. Faiaz has been admitted to various academic courses to prepare for his HSC exams.”
Hasnain said that on the night of July 24, Faiaz was taken from his home in Matuail by a group of officers in plain clothes who came for interrogation. When the family contacted the police station, they were told there was no record of his detention.
They searched for him in different police stations and DB offices for three days but could not find him. "We have been looking for him every day in court and at various police stations. He was finally produced in court on Saturday after being missing for four days."
He also said: "Faiaz has never been involved in any movement. He is only 17 years old, but he has been accused of murder by the police. I spoke to him on the way to the court. He said he had suffered inhumane physical and mental torture during his detention."
Faiaz’s two elder siblings are studying MBBS and at Jahangirnagar University, respectively.
Mohammad Fazal Pradhan, brother-in-law of Bangladesh Police Naik Gias Uddin, filed the case against 17 people at Jatrabari police station on July 24.
The remand petition said that police officer Gias Uddin, 58, had left home at 9pm on July 19 to be on duty at Ganabhaban. The quota reform protests were going on at the time. It is alleged that he was attacked as soon as he reached the north side of the Rayerbag footbridge in Jatrabari on a motorcycle.
“Central leaders of BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh detained Gias Uddin as part of their sabotage of the country after confirming his identity as a policeman. They severely wounded him on the head with sharp weapons with the intent to kill. When Gias Uddin fell to the ground from the wound, those named in the affidavit, along with unidentified assailants, beat him recklessly with iron rods on his face, head, neck, arms, chest, back, stomach, right knee, and foot. He was brutally killed and then hung with a rope on the footbridge,” said the petition.
The affidavit claims the attackers then tried to strip the body and set it on fire to hide it. They left Gias’s body on the side of the road and took his motorcycle.