The International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1) has deferred to January 26 the delivery of the verdict in a case related to the killings of six people in the capital’s Chankharpul area during the 2024 mass uprising.
Tribunal Chairman Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder made the announcement during the proceedings, saying, “Today was scheduled for delivery of the judgment. However, the judgment is not yet ready, and the date has been refixed for January 26.”
In the murder case, eight accused policemen are: former Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner Habibur Rahman; joint commissioner Sudip Kumar Chakraborty; former additional deputy commissioner Shah Alam Mohammad Akhtarul Islam and former assistant commissioner of Ramna zone Mohammad Imrul; former Shahbagh Police Station inspector (operations) Arshad Hossain; and constables Sujon Hossain, Imaz Hossain and Nasirul Islam. Of them, Arshad, Sujon, Imaz and Nasirul are in custody, while the rest are absconding.
According to the prosecution, Habibur, along with Sudip, Akhtarul, Imrul and Arshad, bore command responsibility and they were involved in a joint criminal enterprise, accused of incitement, abetment, and complicity.
Constables Sujon, Imaz, and Nasirul allegedly used rifles to shoot protesters in Chankharpul and adjacent areas, causing deaths to the six people on August 5, 2024. The victims were Shahriar Khan Anas, Sheikh Mahdi Hasan Junayed, Mohammad Yakub, Rakib Hawlader, Ismamul Haque, and Manik Mia.
Earlier in the day, several parents of those killed gathered at the ICT-1 premises, hoping to witness justice for their sons.
Grieving mothers and fathers arrived early, some supported by relatives, others waiting quietly as they watched the tribunal building. Speaking to The Daily Star, they said they had come to see whether the law would finally acknowledge their loss.
Among them was Rahima Akhter, the mother of Mohammad Yakub. Standing in the tribunal courtyard, the woman in her sixties said her only son was shot dead by police during the movement.
“I raised him with dreams,” she said. “Today, I am here to see the judgment for my son’s killing.”
Another parent present was Sheikh Jamal Hossain, the father of 14-year-old Sheikh Mehdi Hasan Junaid, who was also killed in Chankharpul.
“Nothing can bring my child back,” he said. “But justice may give us some peace.”
On December 24 last year, the ICT-1 set today (January 20) for delivering the judgment in the Chankharpul murder case.
This will be the second judgment in cases over crimes against humanity connected to the July uprising, which left more than 1,400 people dead and around 25,000 wounded, many with permanent disabilities, after law enforcers and armed Awami League men opened fire on protesters during the student-led movement that ultimately toppled the Sheikh Hasina government.
On November 17 last year, the tribunal delivered its first verdict in a case for crimes against humanity over crackdown on student-led protests, sentencing deposed prime minister Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death in absentia, and former IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun, who turned approver, to five years’ imprisonment.
FP/MI
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