Home
+
Published : 20 Jul 2025, 05:59 PM
Teenager Hasnatul Islam Fayaz has been cleared of charges in a case involving the murder of police constable Giash Uddin during the July Uprising in Dhaka’s Jatrabari.
He was discharged after the court accepted an interim report submitted under the newly added Section 173A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate GM Farhan Ishtiaq issued the order on Jul 15, Main Uddin Chowdhury, additional deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Prosecution Division, said on Sunday.
Typically, police submit a chargesheet or final report after completing an investigation. However, under Section 173A of the CrPC, introduced via amendment ordinance on Jul 10, there is now a provision to grant discharge to an accused based on an interim report while the investigation is still ongoing.
Invoking the new provision, the case's investigating officer Inspector Molla Md Khalid Hossain submitted an interim report on Jul 13, seeking Fayaz’s discharge. The court accepted the report and cleared Fayaz on Jul 15.
This marks the first instance of a person being released during an ongoing investigation under the amended CrPC.
“Based on the interim report, the court has discharged juvenile Fayaz from the Jatrabari murder case. We hope this will reduce unnecessary harassment and ensure justice for innocent individuals,” said ADC Main Uddin.
According to Section 173A, a police commissioner, district superintendent of police, or any other officer of equivalent rank can instruct an investigating officer to submit an interim report. If there is insufficient evidence against a suspect, the court may discharge them based on the report.
Fayaz was listed as the 16th suspect among 17 implicated in the case related to the killing of the constable during the July protests.
Fayaz, a student at Dhaka College, was under 18 at the time, according to his lawyer. According to his birth certificate, he was born on Apr 19, 2007. He sat for the 2024 SSC exams and secured an A+ from Shamsul Haque Khan School and College in Dhaka.
According to case details, constable Giash Uddin, 58, had left home around 9pm on Jul 19, 2024, to report for duty at the Gonobhaban. At the time, the quota reform movement was ongoing. He was attacked as he arrived near the northern side of the Rayerbagh footbridge in Jatrabari on his motorcycle.
He was later killed, and his body was hung from the footbridge with a rope near Matuail Hospital. On Jul 24, 2024, Giash Uddin’s brother-in-law Md Fazal Pradhan filed a murder case with Jatrabari Police Station, naming 17 people along with several unidentified suspects.
Later that night, Fayaz’s family alleged that plainclothes men took him from their home in Matuail for questioning.
On Jul 27, 2024, the court placed seven people, including Fayaz and Masud Rana, convener of Demra Thana Chhatra Dal, on a seven-day remand for interrogation.
Fayaz’s lawyer Mujahidul Islam opposed the remand petition and applied for bail, arguing that Fayaz was a minor.
After the bail request was rejected, a writ petition was filed at the High Court challenging the legality of his remand. The state later admitted that presenting Fayaz in court with tied hands violated the Children’s Act and said he would not be remanded.
Subsequently, another Dhaka court declared Fayaz a “minor”, cancelling his remand order and ordering that he be sent to the Juvenile Development Centre in Gazipur.
