The International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1) on Monday set 11 September for the indictment hearing in a crimes against humanity case filed over police firing on a student hanging from the cornice of a building at Rampura in the capital on 19 July 2024.
Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, chairman of the three-judge ICT-1 panel, ordered the publication of notices in newspapers directing four fugitive accused, including former Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) commissioner Habibur Rahman, to appear and face trial.
The tribunal also approved the appointment of state defence counsel to represent the absconding accused, following prosecution requests.
Earlier, the prosecution filed a formal charge in the case on August 7, alleging that the police fired on a student hanging from a building's cornice in Rampura and killed two others in the area.
Five people have been made accused in the case: former DMP commissioner Habibur Rahman; former additional deputy commissioner of DMP's Khilgaon division, Md Rashedul Islam; former officer-in-charge of Rampura Police Station, Md Moshiur Rahman; former sub-inspector Tarikul Islam Bhuiyan, and former assistant sub-inspector Chanchal Chandra Sarkar of Rampura police outpost.
Of them, Chanchal Chandra Sarkar has been arrested and is facing the trial in person.
According to case documents, on July 19, 2024, victim Amir Hossain was returning home after Jummah prayers when he got caught in clashes between protesters and police. Seeking shelter, he ran to the fourth floor of an under-construction building. Police reportedly chased protesters to the building, repeatedly ordering Amir to jump at gunpoint.
A policeman fired several shots to intimidate him, prompting Amir to hang from a rod. At one point, a policeman on the third floor fired six bullets, striking Amir's legs. After the police left, Amir managed to descend to the third floor, bleeding heavily.
He was rescued about three hours later by a student and two doctors and taken first to a local hospital, then transferred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Amir Hossain survived the brutal incident.
The accused are also facing allegations in connection with the deaths of two others in the Rampura area on the same day.
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