DHAKA: A Bangladesh court on Tuesday ordered an inquiry into former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's role in the death of a grocery shop owner in the capital Dhaka during deadly student-led protests last month, the complainant's lawyer said.
The case filed by Amir Hamza against Hasina and six others was accepted by the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court after a hearing, Hamza's lawyer Anwarul Islam said. Magistrate Rajesh Chowdhury ordered the police to investigate the case, Islam added.
It is the first case brought against Hasina since a violent uprising that killed about 300 people, many of them university students. She fled to India on August 5 and has taken refuge in New Delhi.
The other accused in the case include Obaidul Quader, general secretary of Hasina's Awami League party, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and other senior police officials.
Hamza, suspected of being a shopkeeper, Abu Saeed, was killed on July 19 at around 4 pm (1000 GMT) when he was hit by a bullet while crossing the road as police fired on protesting students and others demonstrating against quotas in government jobs in Dhaka's Mohammadpur area.
The complainant blamed Hasina, who had called for strong measures to quell the violence, for the police firing.
Hamza said he was not related to Saeed, but that he voluntarily went to court because Saeed's family did not have the financial resources to file the case.
“I am the first common citizen who has shown the courage to take this legal action against Sheikh Hasina for her crimes. I will bring the case to an end,” Hamza said. Reuters.
Hasina, who has been prime minister for the past 15 years, could not immediately be reached for comment. Quader's phone was switched off and Kamal did not answer his call when he was contacted. Reuters I tried to communicate with him.
Nahid Islam, a Bangladeshi student leader who was instrumental in ousting Hasina and now sits in the interim government, recently said the former prime minister should face trial for killings that occurred during her tenure, including during recent protests.
The student-led movement began with protests against quotas in government jobs before spiralling into violent protests to oust Hasina. Her son said she plans to return home to Bangladesh when the caretaker government, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, decides to hold elections.
