Warrant against 17 ex-cop officials

Staff Reporter :

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on Sunday issued warrants for the arrest of 17 former police officers, including former Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Habibur Rahman, over the killings during the July-August mass killings-uprising.

A three-member ICT bench led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder issued the order On Sunday accepting the prosecution’s pleas.

Around 1,500 people, including many students, were killed and over 30,000 others were injured during the protests, the deadliest in Bangladesh’s history.

Police’s role in quelling the protest was widely criticised. Various videos surfaced on social media showing unprovoked attacks by policemen on general public and protesters alike.

One of them showed some policemen piling corpses of protesters on a van after killing them. The bodies were later set afire. Another video showed a policeman shooting at Begum Rokeya student Abu Sayeed and killing him.
“Policemen directly involved in the mass-killing will be brought to book. Those who didn’t commit any crimes have nothing to fear,” said chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam.

The student-led movement eventually toppled the government of Sheikh Hasina on August 5, ending her 15-year rule. After her ouster, the policemen left their workstations and joined only after stern warnings from the interim government. Dozens of policemen have yet to report for duty.

Several senior police officers were retired and arrested after August 5. They have been accused in cases filed over the killings during the uprising. Some, including Detective Branch’s former chief Harun (better known as ‘DB Harun’), are absconding.

Hasina has been accused in more than 200 cases, while over 60 complaints have been filed against her at the tribunal, prompting the ICT to order her arrest on October 17. It ordered the law enforcement to produce her before the tribunal by November 18.