Dhaka. A murder case has been registered against ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and six others over the death of a grocery shop owner during violent clashes last month. This is the first case registered against Hasina (76), who resigned last week and fled to India.
According to the news, the complaint was filed by a well-wisher of grocery shop owner Abu Saeed, who was killed in police firing during a procession taken out on July 19 in support of the reservation movement in Mohammadpur. Other accused include Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun. Apart from these, several high-ranking police officers and government officials have also been made accused in the case.
An interim government has been formed in Bangladesh after the fall of the Hasina-led government. 84-year-old Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has been made its chief advisor. Yunus announced the portfolios of his 16-member advisory council last week. According to reports, seven political parties, including Awami League’s arch rival Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), met Yunus separately and said that the interim government can take the necessary time to create a favorable environment for holding free and fair elections.
“We have given the interim government the necessary time to create a suitable atmosphere for holding elections,” the report quoted BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir as saying. Alamgir said they did not have any discussion regarding elections and the BNP has not mentioned any specific time frame for holding the next election. He said the BNP was extending its full support to all activities of the interim government. The report, quoting sources, said the party urged Yunus to withdraw all cases against its leaders, including party president Khaleda Zia and acting president Tarique Rahman. Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia (79) was released from jail after Hasina’s ouster.