A Dhaka court has set December 14 for submission of a further investigation report in a case over the killing of Md Sifat Hossain, 26, during the July 2024 uprising.
The case names former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and 25 others.
The date was fixed on Monday after the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), the agency assigned to conduct the further investigation, failed to submit its report. Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ariful Islam passed the order.
Sub-Inspector Rafiqul Islam of the prosecution department confirmed the development.
Sifat’s father, Kamal Howlader, filed the case against Hasina and 21 others at a Dhaka court on August 15, 2024. The court recorded his statement and directed Mirpur Model Police Station to register the complaint as a case.
Other accused include former ministers Obaidul Quader and Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, former MPs Kamal Ahmed Majumder, Mainul Hossain Khan Nikhil and Salahuddin Mahmud (SM) Zahid, former inspector general of police Abdullah Al Mamun, former DB chief Harun Or Rashid, former additional joint commissioner Biplob Kumar, and former Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner Habibur Rahman.
On May 28, Mirpur Model Police Station Sub-Inspector Mizanur Rahman submitted a charge sheet against Hasina and 25 others after completing the investigation. However, Sifat’s father was dissatisfied that two accused, Jiaul Haque Zia and Mehedi Hasan, had been excluded from the case.
On September 1, Kamal Howlader filed a no-confidence petition against the police report, alleging that the investigating officer had submitted a biased charge sheet without properly considering the allegations or visiting the crime scene.
After hearing the petition on October 5, the court ordered the PBI to conduct a further investigation.
According to the case statement, thousands of students and members of the public were taking part in the quota reform movement in front of MS Power in Senpara, Mirpur-10, on July 20, 2024, when police opened fire indiscriminately.
Sifat was crossing the road to reach a safe place when he was shot. The bullet entered one side of his head and exited through the other, killing him, the complaint says.
