SI arrested for shooting youth hanging from Rampura building during July uprising

A sub-inspector (SI) of police has been arrested over the shooting of a youth named Amir Hossain, who was hanging from a building's ledge in Dhaka's Rampura during the anti-discrimination protests in July last year.

Police arrested SI Chanchal Chandra Sarkar in Dighinala, Khagrachhari on Sunday night, reports Prothom Alo citing confirmation by Dighinala police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Zakaria.

International Crimes Tribunal Prosecutor and Assistant Attorney General Tanvir Hassan Zoha was present during the arrest along with a special police unit from Dhaka.

According to the report, Chanchal admitted to being present at the scene of the incident in the Meradia area of Rampura in July last year. However, he claimed he did not open fire.

Dighinala police sources said Chanchal was taken to Dhaka following the arrest.

Amir Hossain survived the shooting but he sustained six bullet wounds and is undergoing treatment.

Amir's aunt Nasima Begum told TBS that he is somewhat lucky that the bullets pierced through his legs and no bones were broken, but it will be three months before he can begin to walk a bit.

On 18 July, Amir Hossain, 18, who worked at a hotel in Aftabnagar, was coming home from work in the afternoon when he saw protests being held near Meradia Bazar.

He panicked when he saw police and Border Guard Bangladesh personnel approaching the protesters from both ends of the road. He ran into a nearby under-construction building and went upstairs, towards the rooftop. The police chased after him.

What happened afterwards, shocked the entire nation. The video of the incident shows Amir desperately grasping onto a rod as he kept hanging from the ledge of the building's fourth floor. Even at that moment, the police kept shooting at him.