Probe starts against former Bangladesh PM Hasina, 9 others for genocide, crimes against humanity
Dhaka, Aug 15: Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal has started an investigation against former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and nine others on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity that took place from July 15 to August 5 during students' mass movement against her government.
A complaint was filed on Wednesday with the investigation agency of Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal against Hasina, Awami League general secretary and former road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and several other prominent figures within the party.
The complainant's lawyer Gazi MH Tamim confirmed on Thursday that the Tribunal started the probe on Wednesday night.
Hasina, 76, fled to India on August 5 after resigning from her post amidst unprecedented anti-government student-led protests.
The Hasina-led Awami League along with its affiliated organisations is also named in the petition.
The petition was filed by Bulbul Kabir, the father of Arif Ahmed Siam, a Class IX student who was killed during the anti-discrimination student movement.
“The (ICT-BD) investigation agency has started reviewing the charges... The accusation of genocide and crimes against humanity has been recorded as a case,” said the lawyer.
The application accuses Hasina and others of orchestrating a violent crackdown on student protestors, resulting in widespread casualties and human rights violations.
He said the progress of this investigation outcome would be informed to the Tribunal, originally constituted to try the Bengali-speaking hardened collaborators of Pakistani troops during the 1971 Liberation War, within seven days.
He said that in line with the tribunal law in addition to the plaintiff and other witnesses, reports published in various media from July 16 to August 6 were submitted as necessary documents.
Separately, a case of enforced disappearance was filed on Wednesday against Hasina and several others, including former ministers of her cabinet, on the charge of kidnapping a lawyer in 2015.
On Tuesday, a murder case was filed against Hasina and six others over the death of a grocery shop owner during last month's violent clashes that led to the fall of her government.
Meanwhile, a Dhaka court on Thursday asked police to submit by September 15 the probe report of the case filed against Hasina and six others over the death of grocery shop owner Abu Saeed in police firing in the capital's Mohammadpur area during the quota protests on July 19.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Zaki Al Farabi set the date after the case was placed before his court for the next course of action.
The development coincided with the now scrapped National Mourning Day holiday marking the August 15, 1975 assassination of Hasina’s father and Bangladesh’s founder Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The interim government of Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus cancelled the holiday after discussions with different political parties other than Awami League while most of its leaders are on the run or in jail following the collapse of Hasina's regime on August 5.
According to media reports, some parties were in favour of keeping the mourning day holiday while others opposed it.
Unlike the previous years, no sombre wreath offering ceremony was held at Bangabandhu’s 32 Dhanmandi private residence later turned into a memorial museum which was burnt into ashes by angry mobs following Hasina's resignation and fleeing to India.
“Nobody approves of it... but somebody’s (Hasina regime) overdoing caused the overreaction,” ex-premier Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader and spokesman Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury earlier told PTI, referring to the attack on the museum.
Political commentator and New Age newspaper editor Nurul Kabir, known for his stern criticism of the past regime, said Hasina herself was responsible for the defamation of her father.
Kabir added, “Who can deny his contribution to Bangladesh’s creation".
“The blame lies with them (Hasina regime or party),” he said.
Reports and witnesses said film actress Rokeya Prachi, followed by several people to stage a sit-in, on Wednesday went to the museum but was dispersed by protesters who used sticks to chase them away.
However, a huge group of stick-wielding people on Thursday positioned themselves in front of the museum to bar anyone from paying tributes in front of his bust at Bangabandhu Bhaban, despite calls from the deposed premier.
"I went to pay my respects in the morning. But I could not place wreaths. I felt good as some people gave salam (Muslim traditional greeting) and asked me to go back,” said a 1971 veteran and leader of a Krishak Sramik Awami League, a party belonging to the opposition camp.
He however complained that brickbats were thrown at his car, damaging the vehicle.
The student-led protests demanding reforms in government job quotas evolved into a government-toppling movement in early August.
Over 230 people died in Bangladesh in the incidents of violence that erupted across the country following the fall of the Hasina government on August 5, taking the death toll to 560 during the three weeks of violence.
Following Hasina’s resignation, a caretaker government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was formed in the country, promising to address administrative and political reforms and hold accountable those involved in the violence.
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Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Mamata Banerjee of stalling SIR; TMC hits back
Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.
The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.
Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.
She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.
"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.
The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.
Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.
Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.
She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.
She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.
Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.
Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.
"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.
Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.
Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.
"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.
Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.
Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.
She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.
The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.
Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.
Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."
"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.
"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.
