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Published : 09 Apr 2025, 05:12 PM
Investigators have found evidence pointing to the "involvement" of 26 people in crimes against humanity in connection with the widely discussed shooting death of Begum Rokeya University student Abu Sayed during the Anti-discrimination Student Movement.
On Wednesday, the International Crimes Tribunal sent four suspects to jail.
The three-member tribunal, headed by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder, passed the order after hearing a petition filed by the case's investigating officer.
The four sent to prison are Shariful Islam, then proctor of Begum Rokeya University, Sub-Inspector Amir Hossain and Constable Sujan Chandra Roy, who were among those who allegedly shot Abu Sayed, and Imran Chowdhury Akash, general secretary of the university’s Chhatra League at the time.
The four were produced before the tribunal from jail at 10am and a hearing on the petition to formally show them as arrested began around noon. Lawyer Mizanul Islam stood for the petitioner.
At the hearing, Mizanul said: "The investigation found the involvement of the four suspects in Abu Sayed's murder. I urge the court to have them arrested and sent to jail.
Noting that the investigation is close to its end, he added: “The officer has already found the involvement of 26 people. It will take two more months to complete the investigation. The tribunal ordered the four to be sent to jail, setting the next hearing on Jun 15."
Speaking at a press conference later, Mizanul said: "Among the 26 people found to have links to the killing are police officers, members of the Awami League's helmet force, people from the administration, as well as those who instigated and encouraged such killings.”
Asked why former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was not named in the case, he said: "The then autocratic government filed a false case to divert attention from Abu Sayed's murder. After the [government was toppled on] Aug 5 last year, Abu Sayed's family filed another case. If all the accused in that case are also charged in this one, the previous case will not proceed.
"Many incidents have taken place across the country at the behest of Sheikh Hasina. We have not said whether Sheikh Hasina's name is there among the 26 people. There is no bar on filing more than one case at the tribunal."
Abu Sayed, a student of Begum Rokeya University, was shot dead by police in Rangpur on Jul 16 last year during the Anti-discrimination Movement.
He was a 12th-batch student at Rokeya University’s English department and one of the coordinators of the Movement.
On Aug 18, his elder brother Ramzan Ali initiated a lawsuit at a Rangpur court against 17 people, including police officials, university administration, teachers, and 35 other unidentified accused.
Meanwhile, Sayed’s family filed a complaint against 25 people with the International Crimes Tribunal on Jan 13. On Feb 23, Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam filed the case (ICT BD case no: 12/2025) with the tribunal.
On Mar 2, four people, including Constable Sujan Chandra Roy, were ordered to appear before the tribunal on a petition filed by the state.
