A Dhaka court has ordered an investigation into ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her alleged role in the death of a grocery shop owner during last month’s deadly student-led protests in the city.
The case, filed by businessman Amir Hamza against Hasina and six others, was accepted by Dhaka’s chief metropolitan magistrate’s court following a hearing on Aug. 13, according to Hamza’s lawyer, Anwarul Islam.
Hamza alleged that grocer Abu Saeed was killed on July 19 at about 4 p.m. when he was hit by a bullet while crossing the street as police fired on student protesters and demonstrators against quotas in government jobs in the Mohammadpur area of Dhaka.
The complaint blamed Hasina, who had called for strong action to quell the violence.
It is the first case filed against Hasina in the wake of the violence, which resulted in the deaths of about 300 people, many of them college and university students.
The others accused in the case are Obaidul Quader, the general secretary of Hasina’s Awami League party, former Interior Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and senior police officials.
Hamza said he is not related to Saeed but voluntarily approached the court because Saeed’s family allegedly did not have the finances to file the case.
“I am the first ordinary citizen who showed the courage to take this legal step against Sheikh Hasina for her crimes. I will see the case to an end,” Hamza told Reuters.
Hasina has not commented on the charge, nor has Quader.
Nahid Islam, a Bangladeshi student leader who is now part of the interim government, has said that the former prime minister must face trial for the deaths during her term.
The student-led movement started with demonstrations against quotas in government jobs before it turned into a movement against Hasina’s administration.
Hasina was the country’s longest-serving female head of government and was elected for a fourth consecutive term in January in an election boycotted by her main opponents.
Thousands of opposition members were jailed in the lead-up to the polls, prompting the U.S. and UK governments to label the result as not credible, despite the Bangladeshi government’s defense of the poll.
The chaos on the nation’s streets persisted after Hasina’s resignation, with dozens of police officers being killed, prompting police to stop work across the country. However, they have since begun to return to their posts.
Washington has denied reports that suggested that the United States played a role in Hasina’s downfall because it wanted control over Bangladesh’s Saint Martin Island in the Bay of Bengal.
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre responded to the claims at a press briefing on Aug. 12.
“We have had no involvement at all. Any reports or rumors that the United States government was involved in these events is simply false,” she said. “We believe that the Bangladeshi people should determine the future of the Bangladeshi government and that’s where we stand.”
