A Dhaka court has extended the deadline for submitting the investigation report in the murder case of Inqilab Mancha convener Sharif Osman Hadi to February 3, marking the fourth extension in the case.
Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Awlad Hossain Muhammad Jonaid set the new date on Thursday after the investigation officer failed to submit the report, prosecution department Sub-Inspector Ruknuzzaman said.
The investigation is being conducted by CID Dhaka Metro (East) Assistant Superintendent of Police Abdur Qadir Bhuiyan.
Earlier, Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Jashita Islam had fixed January 25 for submission of the report.
The Detective Branch (DB) of the police submitted a charge sheet on January 6, accusing 17 people in the case. However, Inqilab Mancha expressed dissatisfaction with the charge sheet.
The case came up for hearing on January 12, when Abdullah Al Jaber, member secretary of Inqilab Mancha, sought two days to review the chargesheet. The court granted the request and fixed January 15 for receiving the chargesheet.
On that day, Abdullah Al Jaber formally filed an objection, stating dissatisfaction with the DB-submitted chargesheet. Following the objection, the court ordered the CID to reinvestigate the case.
Hadi, who rose to prominence through the July uprising and the movement to ban the Awami League, had announced his intention to contest the 13th parliamentary election as an independent candidate from Dhaka-8 constituency.
On December 12, Hadi was shot in the head while conducting a public outreach campaign in the Bijoynagar area. He was first taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for surgery and later transferred to Evercare Hospital in critical condition. Doctors described his condition as “extremely critical.”
On December 15, afternoon, Hadi was airlifted to Singapore for advanced treatment. He passed away while undergoing treatment there on December 18.
Inspector Foysal Ahmed of the Detective Branch (DB) submitted the charge-sheet on January 6 against 17 accused, including alleged shooter Foysal Karim Masud and his parents Humayun Kabir and Hashi Begum. Eleven of the accused have been arrested so far and are now in jail.
The six fugitives include Foysal Karim Masud, his accomplice Alamgir Hossain, alleged mastermind and former ward councillor Taijul Islam Chowdhury Bappi, Filips Scalp, Mukti Akter, and Jesmin Akter.
The arrested accused also include Foysal Karim Masud's wife Shaheda Parvin Samia, brother-in-law Wahid Ahmed Shipu, alleged girlfriend Maria Akter Lima, and others-Md Kabir, Nuruzzaman Nomani alias Ujjal, Civion Dew, Sanjay Chisim, Aminul Islam Raju, and Abdul Hannan Foysal.
According to the case statement, Foysal Karim Masud and Alamgir Hossain, riding a motorcycle, opened fire on Hadi while he was travelling in a battery-run rickshaw on December 12, and then fled the scene.
Inqilab Mancha Member Secretary Abdullah Al Zaber filed the case with Paltan Model Police Station on December 14.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Siddiq Azad had on December 20 ordered inclusion of Section 302 (murder) of the Penal Code in the case, which was initially filed as attempted murder, following Hadi's death on December 18.