Shot in the chest: Three witnesses tell tribunal about Uprising killings in Chankharpul

A witness recalls calling a number from the victim’s phone, and a woman answered, saying, “My son Anas joined the protest”

Three witnesses have appeared before the International Crimes Tribunal to testify about the fatal shooting of a protester during an Anti-discrimination Student Movement at Dhaka’s Chankharpul.

The ICT-1, led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, heard testimony from one university student and two police officers on Sunday.

The student, Md Sourav Ahmed, is enrolled in the Bangla department at Jagannath University in the 2022-2023 session.

On Aug 5 last year, six people were killed at Chankharpul on a day marked by nationwide anti-government protests.

A case has since been filed against eight individuals, including former Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Habibur Rahman.

Sourav recounted that he actively participated in the movement in July last year.

On Aug 5, intending to join the March to Dhaka programme, he left his residence in Ray Shaheb Bazar at 9:00am and arrived at Chankharpul while moving toward Shaheed Minar.

Police reportedly targeted the crowd near the burn institute with tear gas, sound grenades, rubber bullets, and live rounds.

“We scattered into various lanes for cover. Amid the intense shooting, several protesters were injured. Around noon, a protester beside me was shot in the left chest. Another demonstrator and I rushed him by rickshaw to Mitford Hospital,” he said.

Sourav added that, as the victim’s identity was unknown, they admitted him under a temporary name. Doctors later declared him dead.

He said the victim carried a phone without a SIM card containing several saved numbers, including one listed as “Mother”.

“I called the number; a woman answered. When I asked if anyone had joined the protest, she confirmed, ‘My son Anas has gone’. I told her to come to Mitford Hospital. Anas’s mother, father, and grandfather arrived and broke down upon seeing him,” Sourav said.

He urged the tribunal to hold deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina and senior police officers accountable for the shootings, and demanded justice for those directly responsible for firing at the protesters.