bdnews24.com :
Most of the cases that were filed following the ruckus of Islamist outfit Hifazat-e-Islam in Dhaka on May 5, 2013 have seen little or no progress over the past four years.
Police say the plotters have been identified but not all of those “foot soldiers” who carried out the mayhem.
Different quarters speculate that the culprits might be able to dodge the trial as police are still struggling with investigation.
The recent meeting held between
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Hifazat delegation has added to the apprehension. Police have submitted charges in only 15 out of the 83 cases that followed the incident, according to Police’s Counter Terrorism Unit’s chief Monirul Islam.
None of them named Hifazat chief Amir Shah Ahmad Shafi as a suspect. “Thousands of people gathered in the rally of Hifazat that day. So it may take some more time to gather data and specify who were directly involved in the misconducts,” said officer Monirul. “People from all over the country joined the rally. We are trying to confirm their identities and also what role they played during the rally, individually or collectively,” he told this news agency. Hifazat, a Qawmi madrasa-based organisation, came to the forefront with a demand for punishment to ‘atheist bloggers’ after the Ganajagaran Movement started in 2013 demanding capital punishment for the 1971 war criminals. The outfit put forward 13 demands back then, of which the government recently granted one by recognising a top Qawmi madrasa degree as equivalent to post-graduate degrees.
On May 5, 2013, Hifazat leaders and activists blocked six entrances of capital Dhaka and took position at the Shapla Chattar in Motijheel at the end of their programme. Clashes between police and the activists continued throughout the day. The Hifazat men vandalised hundreds of makeshift shops in Motijheel, Paltan and adjacent areas, damaged several government and private establishments.
According to a claim of police, 39 police personnel died while fighting Hifazat men in parts of the capital.
The Hifazat activists were driven out finally after a crackdown by police, RAB and Border Guard Bangladesh or BGB that night. According to the Police Headquarters, 84,976 people were accused in 83 cases filed in five districts including the capital. Activists of Hifazat-e-Islam, Islami Oikya Jote, Jamaat-e-Islami, Islami Chhatra Shibir, Nezam-e-Islam, Khilafat Majlish, Khilafat Andolan, Jomiyote Ulamaye Islam, BNP, Juba Dal and Chhatra Dal are named among the 3,416 accused who have been identified.
Police have filed charges in 15 cases. Only one case has been settled in Bagerhat where all of the accused were acquitted. According to Dhaka Metropolitan Police, 53 cases were filed with Ramna, Motijheel, Wari, and Tejgaon Police Station in Dhaka. Police submitted charges in four of them. The rest of the 49 cases are under investigation. Separate cases were filed on each and every incident of violence that took place on May 5, said officer Monirul. “Most of the masterminds have been identified but not all the foot soldiers,” he said.
The investigation in the case over the murder of Sub-Inspector Shahjahan is not over yet.
“Some of the accused have confessed while there are names of leaders of different organisations police need to sort out,” said Monirul. The case on attacks on a constable at a traffic police outpost is under investigation.
Court police could not yield anything on the progress of the cases.
Six people died while clashing with police at Chittagong’s Hathazari on May 6 during a blockade enforced by Hifazat. Police filed a case over the incident accusing 53 identified and four to five thousand unidentified people. An investigation is ongoing in the case.
Two Hifazat activists died during clash with police in Bagerhat. Six cases were filed on the incident where 10,000 to 12,000 unidentified people were accused including local activists of Hifazat, Jamaat and BNP.
The accused were acquitted in one case filed at Fokirhat Police Station because no one testified. Charges have been submitted in five others. Seven cases were filed over clashes between Hifazat men and police-BGB at Kanchpur-Shimrail neighbourhood in Narayanganj.
Most of the cases that were filed following the ruckus of Islamist outfit Hifazat-e-Islam in Dhaka on May 5, 2013 have seen little or no progress over the past four years.
Police say the plotters have been identified but not all of those “foot soldiers” who carried out the mayhem.
Different quarters speculate that the culprits might be able to dodge the trial as police are still struggling with investigation.
The recent meeting held between
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Hifazat delegation has added to the apprehension. Police have submitted charges in only 15 out of the 83 cases that followed the incident, according to Police’s Counter Terrorism Unit’s chief Monirul Islam.
None of them named Hifazat chief Amir Shah Ahmad Shafi as a suspect. “Thousands of people gathered in the rally of Hifazat that day. So it may take some more time to gather data and specify who were directly involved in the misconducts,” said officer Monirul. “People from all over the country joined the rally. We are trying to confirm their identities and also what role they played during the rally, individually or collectively,” he told this news agency. Hifazat, a Qawmi madrasa-based organisation, came to the forefront with a demand for punishment to ‘atheist bloggers’ after the Ganajagaran Movement started in 2013 demanding capital punishment for the 1971 war criminals. The outfit put forward 13 demands back then, of which the government recently granted one by recognising a top Qawmi madrasa degree as equivalent to post-graduate degrees.
On May 5, 2013, Hifazat leaders and activists blocked six entrances of capital Dhaka and took position at the Shapla Chattar in Motijheel at the end of their programme. Clashes between police and the activists continued throughout the day. The Hifazat men vandalised hundreds of makeshift shops in Motijheel, Paltan and adjacent areas, damaged several government and private establishments.
According to a claim of police, 39 police personnel died while fighting Hifazat men in parts of the capital.
The Hifazat activists were driven out finally after a crackdown by police, RAB and Border Guard Bangladesh or BGB that night. According to the Police Headquarters, 84,976 people were accused in 83 cases filed in five districts including the capital. Activists of Hifazat-e-Islam, Islami Oikya Jote, Jamaat-e-Islami, Islami Chhatra Shibir, Nezam-e-Islam, Khilafat Majlish, Khilafat Andolan, Jomiyote Ulamaye Islam, BNP, Juba Dal and Chhatra Dal are named among the 3,416 accused who have been identified.
Police have filed charges in 15 cases. Only one case has been settled in Bagerhat where all of the accused were acquitted. According to Dhaka Metropolitan Police, 53 cases were filed with Ramna, Motijheel, Wari, and Tejgaon Police Station in Dhaka. Police submitted charges in four of them. The rest of the 49 cases are under investigation. Separate cases were filed on each and every incident of violence that took place on May 5, said officer Monirul. “Most of the masterminds have been identified but not all the foot soldiers,” he said.
The investigation in the case over the murder of Sub-Inspector Shahjahan is not over yet.
“Some of the accused have confessed while there are names of leaders of different organisations police need to sort out,” said Monirul. The case on attacks on a constable at a traffic police outpost is under investigation.
Court police could not yield anything on the progress of the cases.
Six people died while clashing with police at Chittagong’s Hathazari on May 6 during a blockade enforced by Hifazat. Police filed a case over the incident accusing 53 identified and four to five thousand unidentified people. An investigation is ongoing in the case.
Two Hifazat activists died during clash with police in Bagerhat. Six cases were filed on the incident where 10,000 to 12,000 unidentified people were accused including local activists of Hifazat, Jamaat and BNP.
The accused were acquitted in one case filed at Fokirhat Police Station because no one testified. Charges have been submitted in five others. Seven cases were filed over clashes between Hifazat men and police-BGB at Kanchpur-Shimrail neighbourhood in Narayanganj.
