'No more talk this time - do it at the beginning': How Hasina ordered shooting in call with deputy military secy

An audio of a phone call between ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her then deputy military secretary, Colonel Rajib, was played today (13 October) at the International Crimes Tribunal, which prosecutors say contains orders to use lethal force against the protesters during last year's July–August uprising.

The prosecution presented the clip on the second day of arguments in a case accusing Sheikh Hasina, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and three others of crimes against humanity during the uprising.

Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam presented the audio after showing a Daily Star documentary about the mass uprising and the then government's response.

In the recording, which the prosecution says was made on 29 July last year, Sheikh Hasina is heard describing the locations where people were gathering – including Mirpur, Jatrabari, Uttara and BRAC University – and ordering action.

"They have started gathering in different places now… But at the beginning, yes… we have to do it, at the very beginning. If we chase them, they will be in the alleys. This time, there is no more talk. This time, start at the beginning," she said in the clip.

The prosecution told the tribunal that the official on the other end of the call was Colonel Rajib, the ousted prime minister's deputy military secretary at the time, who is currently believed to be outside the country.

Prosecutors interpreted the final line — "start at the beginning" — as an instruction to open fire as soon as security forces encountered protesters.

The prosecution presented the documentary and audio as evidence of the then government's role in suppressing the student-led uprising.

'Police shot 20-year-old Hridoy, dumped his body in river'

After Hasina fled the country on 5 August last year, police opened fire on the public in Kashimpur's Konabari area of Gazipur. Among them was 20-year-old student Hridoy, whose bloodied body was dumped under the Kodda Bridge of the Turag River under the cover of darkness.

The footage of Hridoy being shot was shown at the International Crimes Tribunal, leaving the courtroom in silence.

The video showed that students and locals brought out a victory procession near Konabari Police Station to celebrate Sheikh Hasina's fall. Hridoy was among them. Police suddenly opened fire on the procession. While others ran for cover, Hridoy was caught by several policemen. They surrounded him – one officer approached with a baton, another slapped the college student, and before anyone could react, Constable Akram shot him from behind, killing him instantly.

Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam told the tribunal that police later dumped Hridoy's body in the Kodda River in Gazipur at night. "Constable Akram of Konabari Police Station shot martyr Hridoy at close range," he said, adding that the officer has confessed in his statement.

He further said divers were deployed to search for Hridoy's body, but it could not be recovered due to the strong current of the river. "Although the body was not found, Constable Akram gave a full confession describing the shooting and disposal of the body to investigators," the chief prosecutor said.

Hridoy was from Alamnagar village in Gopalpur upazila of Tangail. He was an eleventh-grade student at Hemnagar Degree College and drove an autorickshaw in Konabari to support his studies.