Sheikh Hasina facing three new legal cases in Bangladesh

Sheikh Hasina, the former prime minister of Bangladesh, faces three additional legal cases. These cases, filed on Sunday, accuse her of orchestrating an attack on Khaleda Zia, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader, in 2015, ordering gunfire at a Dhaka rally in 2013, and being involved in the death of a student in Joypurhat on August 4. Since stepping down on August 5, the total number of complaints against Hasina has reached 10. She fled to India following a month-long student-led protest that demanded her government’s resignation. The United Nations reported that over 600 people, including students, died during these demonstrations.

BNP leader Bellal Hossain filed a case against Hasina and 113 others, accusing them of participating in the 2015 attack on Khaleda Zia’s convoy. The First Information Report (FIR) at Tejgaon police station in Dhaka also mentions 500 to 700 unidentified attackers. Another case targets Hasina over the death of 18-year-old student Nazibul Sarkar during a protest in Joypurhat on August 4. Nazibul’s father, Mazidul Sarkar, filed this case at the Joypurhat chief judicial magistrate’s court. Former road transport minister Obaidul Quader and 128 others are also named as accused in this case.

Additionally, Mohammad Babul Sardar Chakhari, president of the Bangladesh People’s Party, filed a case at the Dhaka metropolitan magistrate’s court. He accuses Hasina and 33 others of ordering gunfire at a 2013 rally organised by Hefajat-e Islam, an Islamist group, at Shapla Chattar. The complaint claims the shooting resulted in multiple deaths.

Meanwhile, officials reported that 44 police officers died during recent protests and the subsequent violence following Hasina’s government’s ouster.