LGRD Adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain on Thursday said two people were killed in front of him in the capital’s Chankharpul area on August 5, 2024, in the firing by police.
“Two people were killed right in front of me. Later, I got to learn that six protesters were gunned down by police using Chinese rifles and shotguns on that day in the Chankharpul area. Around 1:30pm that day, we learned that Sheikh Hasina had resigned and fled the country,” he said.
Asif said these in his testimony at the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-1 as a prosecution witness (PW) in the crimes against humanity case lodged over the killings of six innocent people in the city's Chankharpul area on August 5, 2024.
He accused the ousted prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, Habibur Rahman, Awami League leaders, commanding authority in the police of the killing, in his testimony.
Tracing events from the 2018 quota reform movement to the High Court verdict on quota restoration and the subsequent Anti-Discrimination Student Movement leading up to the 2024 mass uprising, the LGRD and Sports Ministry adviser said he was a coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement during the July uprising.
He described how intelligence personnel from various agencies tried to persuade them to withdraw the movement. While being detained at the DB office, they were repeatedly told that they had been brought there under the orders of the prime minister and the home minister, and that failure to comply would result in their killing. “However, the DB spared our lives,” he said.
Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain submitted his deposition as PW-19. He, however, failed to conclude his deposition. The three-member tribunal headed by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Majumder, at the end of Thursday’s proceedings, adjourned the hearing till October 16.
The first tribunal on July 14 framed charges against eight accused, including former commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Habibur Rahman, in a crimes against humanity case filed over the killings of six innocent people in the city's Chankharpul area on August 5, 2024.
Of the eight, four accused have been arrested and are now facing trial in person. They are- former officer-in-charge of Shahbagh police station, Md Arshad Hossain, constables Md Sujon Miah, Md Imaj Hossain Emon and Md Nasirul Islam. The other four accused are former DMP commissioner Habibur Rahman, former joint commissioner Sudip Kumar Chakraborty, former additional deputy commissioner Shah Alam Md Akhtarul Islam and former assistant commissioner Mohammad Imrul.
The prosecution, led by Chief Prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam, on July 3 had argued for framing charges against the accused, while the defence counsels moved their discharge petitions for their clients.
Advocate Saddam Hossain Ovy argued for accused former inspector Arshad, Barrister Sifat Mahmud for constable Md Sujon, Advocate Shibli Sadekin for constable Imaj Hossain Emon, Advocate Abul Hasan for constable Nasirul Islam and state-appointed counsel Advocate Md Kutubuddin defended four fugitive accused at the tribunal.
The prosecution on May 25 filed the formal charge against eight in the crimes against humanity case lodged over the killings of six innocent people in the city's Chankharpul area on August 5, 2024. It was the maiden formal charge filed at the ICT in the cases lodged over the July-August mass uprising.
Shahriar Khan Anas, Sheikh Mahdi Hasan Zunayed, Md Yakub, Md Rakib Hawlader, Md Ismamul Haque and Manik Miah embraced martyrdom in Chankharpul area on August 5.
The investigation agency of the tribunal filed the 90-page probe report on April 20.