Staff Reporter :
Police in Feni have filed a charge sheet against 221 leaders and activists of the Awami League (AL), including its president and former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, over the killing of Mahbubul Hassan Masum during last year’s July-August anti-government movement.
Sub-Inspector Alamgir Hossain, the investigation officer of the case, submitted the charge sheet to the court of Senior Judicial Magistrate Jabed Akhter on Wednesday afternoon.
At a press briefing, Feni Superintendent of Police Md Habibur Rahman said the charge sheet follows a detailed probe into the violent clashes on 4 August 2023, when AL supporters allegedly attacked anti-discrimination student protesters at the Mohipal area on the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway.
The clash left at least 11 people, including Masum, dead on the spot and injured many others.
Masum’s brother, Mahmudul Hassan, initially filed a case with Feni Model Police Station naming 162 people.
During the investigation, police identified a total of 221 suspects, confirming direct involvement of 156 of the originally accused and linking an additional 62 people to the killing.
Among the prominent figures named in the charge sheet are former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, former road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader, former Feni-2 MP and district AL general secretary Nizam Uddin Hazari, former Jatiya Party lawmaker Lt Gen (Rtd) Masud Uddin Chowdhury, Feni Sadar Upazila AL general secretary Susen Chandra Shil, and Feni Pourashava AL general secretary Nazrul Islam Swapon Miazi.
The SP said police have so far arrested 51 people in connection with the case, and three have given confessional statements before the court.
Investigators have also recovered arms and ammunition believed to have been used in the attacks.
“The names of innocent people were dropped from the charge sheet,” SP Habibur Rahman said, adding that “no one was included based on political grounds.”
According to police, the August 4 violence triggered a series of legal actions. In total, seven murder cases and 15 attempted murder cases were filed, implicating over 2,199 people.
More than 1,000 individuals have already been arrested across these cases, with 11 accused having given confessional statements so far.
The court is expected to set a date soon for the formal trial to begin.
