Case against 115 people including Hasina, Quader in Gazipur on charges of killing hawker

Former Prime Minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina, former Road Transport minister and Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader and 115 others have been accused in the killing of a hawker during the protests of Anti-Discrimination Student Movement in Gazipur.

The case was filed yesterday (22 August) by Md Rajab Ali, father of deceased Md Arif Bepari, yesterday, confirmed Mohammad Ziaul Islam, officer-in-charge of Gacha police station of Gazipur Metropolitan Police.

Deceased Md Arif Bepari, 28, was a resident of Torki Kanda area of Matlab police station in Chandpur.

Md Arif Bepari along with his father used to sell goods on the roadside and stayed in a rented house in East Kalmeshwar (Mridhabari) in Gacha Thana area of Gazipur city.

In the case, eight people including former Minister of Liberation War AKM Mozammel Haque, former state minister of Md Zahid Ahsan Russel, Metropolitan Awami League President Adv Azmat Ullah Khan, former Mayor of Gazipur City Md Jahangir Alam have been named as those instigating the attack.

In the statement of the case, the plaintiff alleged that on 20 July, around 3pm, Md Arif Bepari was on his way to work in front of Islamic University of Technology under Gacha police station, Kalmeshwar, on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway. With the help and leadership of Awami League leaders, 300/350 unidentified people attacked the general public including students participating in the protests of the Anti-discrimination Student Movement near Board Bazar Awami League office with the intention of killing, inciting acts of violence and breaking curfew for the purpose of creating panic and looting.

At one stage, they set fire to various vehicles on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway and damaged and looted various government and non-government establishments, including garments, markets, shops, etc., with iron rods, pipes, wooden and bamboo sticks, sharp Armed with domestic deadly weapons and firearms including knives and sharp weapons.

Later, the goons while wearing helmets, divided into different groups and positioned themselves in the alleys adjacent to the highway and started firing indiscriminately with their illegal firearms from the cover of various buildings. At this time, Md Arif Bepari, was on his way to East Kalmeshwar (Mridhabari) area when the accused who were stationed at the Machine Market alley of East Kalmeshwar under Gacha police station chased him and shot him in the stomach.

The passers-by took Arif to International Medical College Hospital in Gazipur city for treatment.

Rajab Ali further said that on hearing the news through people, he rushed to the hospital along with other family members and found his son suffering from severe bloody injuries and a bullet wound in his abdomen. Arif died later in the day around 4:30pm while undergoing treatment at the hospital.