Staff Reporter :
Two separate cases have been filed against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and several senior leaders of the Awami League in connection with the deaths of three students during protests over the quota reform movement.
The first case was lodged in Dhaka yesterday by Nasrin Begum, the mother of Iqram Hossain Kaoser, who was a student at Kabi Nazrul Government College.
Iqram, along with Omar Faruque, a student of Government Shaheed Suhrawardy College, died on July 19, 2024, during violent clashes in Dhaka’s Sutrapur area.
The clashes erupted as students demanded changes to the government job quota system, which they claimed was discriminatory.
The case was filed at the Court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Tarikul Islam.
The list of accused includes high-profile figures such as former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader, former Detective Branch (DB) Chief Harun Or Rashid, former Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Habibur Rahman, former Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, and former DMP Joint Commissioner Biplob Kumar Sarkar.
The charges against the former prime minister and her associates are grave,as they are accused of being responsible for the deaths of the students during the violence.
The plaintiffs allege that the law enforcement agencies, under the direct command of these leaders, used excessive force to suppress the protest, leading to the fatal outcome.
In a separate incident, another case was filed in Joypurhat against Sheikh Hasina, Obaidul Quader, and 126 others.
This case relates to the death of Najibul Sarkar, an 11th-grade student at Panchbibi Business Management Institute, who was killed on August 4, 2024, during the Students Against Discrimination movement.
The movement, which had spread across the country, sought to address perceived injustices in the educational and job placement systems.
Najibul’s father, Majidul Sarkar, filed the case with the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Joypurhat on Sunday.
According to Abdul Momin Fakir, the plaintiff’s lawyer, the court has directed the officer-in-charge of Joypurhat Sadar Police Station to register the lawsuit.
Both cases have sparked significant controversy, with the opposition and rights groups condemning the actions of the former administration.