Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

A Bangladesh court on Saturday (October 26, 2024) ordered the police to submit the investigation report of a murder case against former premier Sheikh Hasina and 23 others by November 28, according to media reports.

The murder case was filed over the death of an 18-year-old college student in Mirpur, Dhaka, during a crackdown by the Hasina-led Awami League Government on student-led mass protests that led to her ouster.

On August 5, Ms. Hasina, 77, fled to India in the face of the violent protests against a controversial quota system in Government jobs, which led to the death of hundreds of people since mid-July.

Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Md. Ziadur Rahman ordered the submission of the probe report by November 28 after the case was presented in his court, The Daily Star newspaper reported.

The case was filed on August 15 by the victim’s brother, who asserted that the accused were directly involved in or facilitated the violence that led to his brother’s death and injuries to other students.

Apart from Ms. Hasina, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader, former law minister Anisul Huq, and former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun are among those accused in the case.

Ms. Hasina is now facing 225 cases, including 194 for murders, 16 for crimes against humanity and genocide, three for abduction, 11 for attempted murder and one for an attack on a Bangladesh Nationalist Party procession, according to the report.

Members of the newly formed interim government are sworn in at the Bangabhaban, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on August 8, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Seventeen members of Bangladesh’s interim government took their oaths at a ceremony in Dhaka on Thursday (August 8, 2024).

Nobel laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus, 84, head of the caretaker government, has taken a super-portfolio encompassing transport, land, defence, aviation and energy. His cabinet, who began work on Friday, have been given the official title of advisers, instead of ministers.

Also Read: Change in Bangladesh, the challenges for India 

Bangladeshis on Friday welcomed the new interim government, hoping it would restore order, end repression and hold a fair election to facilitate a democratic transition of power.

Here are the men and women tasked with steering democratic reforms after the end of Hasina’s autocratic 15-year tenure: