‘Blood was still flowing’: Witnesses testify in 5 Aug Chankharpul killing case

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-1) continued its hearing for the third consecutive day in the case against eight police officers accused of killing six people at Chankharpul on 5 August, the day former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted during the mass uprising.

The hearing was held today (13 August) before a three-member tribunal led by Chairman Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mojumder. Prosecutor Mizanul Islam conducted the proceedings, joined by Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam, Prosecutor Faruk Ahmed, and others.

Around noon, Rahima Akhter, mother of martyr Md Yakub, 35, took the witness stand. Yakub, a deliveryman living near Shaikh Burhanuddin Post Graduate College on Nazimuddin Road, was shot during the protest.

Rahima described the incident, saying, "On 5 August, my son went to Chankharpul for the protest and was shot. I ran out of the house screaming. Neighbours told me he was fine and had been taken to Mitford Hospital, but when I saw his body around 2pm, blood was still flowing, and his intestines were exposed. The bullet had exited."

She added that videos and news reports later confirmed the shooters were in plainclothes, implicating the police. Rahima demanded justice, naming Sheikh Hasina and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader as responsible.

Her neighbour Shahid Ahmed, 40, also testified, saying, "Around 11:30am, thousands of people gathered at Chankharpul. I saw police and plainclothes officers on the opposite side. They obstructed us and fired blank shots first, then live fire. Yakub was shot, and we took him to Mitford Hospital, where he died."

"Sheikh Hasina, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun, DMP Commissioner Habibur Rahman, and Joint Commissioner Sudip Kumar Chakraborty ordered the shooting. Constables Sujan, Nasirul, and Imaj carried out the firing in the presence of DMP officials Md Imrul and Inspector Arshad, along with many others," he added.

Md Mohibul Haque, 21, brother of the deceased Ismamul Haque, 17, also testified.

He said, "My brother was shot at Chankharpul and admitted to Mitford Hospital. Due to blocked roads, we reached Dhaka the next day and found him transferred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. He was moved to the ICU and put on life support, but passed away on 7 August."

Mohibul added that no post-mortem was conducted and demanded "exemplary punishment for my brother's killers and those who gave the orders," identifying Sheikh Hasina, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, Obaidul Quader, Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun, Habibur Rahman, ADC Aktarul Islam, Imrul, and Arshad as responsible.

Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mojumder adjourned the hearing until 20 August. The tribunal had earlier heard testimony from college associate professor Anjuara Yasmin and Sheikh Jamal Hasan, both seeking justice for victims of the Chankharpul massacre.