10,000 Accused, 6,000 Found Innocent

A teenage boy named Shihab Uddin from Companyganj in Sylhet was injured in a motorcycle accident during the final phase of the 2024 mass uprising. His body sustained cuts and injuries. However, this accident was later falsely portrayed in court as a shooting incident in the anti-discrimination student movement, leading to an attempted murder case against at least 32 people.

A detailed investigation by the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) has uncovered the full extent of this fabricated case. The PBI has already submitted its report to the court, exposing the case as false, according to investigators involved in the probe. They said the case was filed to frame rival groups.

Such fabricated cases are not isolated. A large number of cases were also filed over violence during the July uprising, with an unusually high number of accused. The PBI has completed investigations into 129 such cases and submitted charge sheets to the court. Out of 9,865 accused in these cases, 6,089 were found innocent and discharged.

This means allegations against around 62 percent of the accused were not substantiated. In 25 cases, investigators found the entire allegations to be false and submitted final reports to the court, clearing all accused persons. Documents reviewed by Agamir Shomoy revealed these alarming findings.

Parul Khatun, a resident of Uttara in Dhaka, filed a case accusing 400 people after claiming that her son, Kawser Mia, was shot dead and his body was secretly disposed of during a student-public protest at Azampur bus stand in Uttara during the July movement.

However, Kawser Mia was later arrested by police on June 2 last year in a separate case involving preparation for robbery. After finding no evidence supporting Parul Khatun’s claims, the PBI concluded that the murder and disappearance case was also fabricated and submitted a final report to the court.

Investigators said that during the anti-discrimination student movement, hundreds of people were routinely named as accused in cases involving clashes, violence, murder, attacks, and vandalism without proper scrutiny. Later investigations found no clear evidence or factual basis against many of them.

Legal experts say many cases filed over the 2024 mass movement violence have become questionable. Allegations have been raised that, individuals with no involvement in the incidents were also named as accused, raising serious doubts about the credibility of these cases.

They warn that the biggest victims of such flawed and controversial cases will ultimately be genuine victims and their families, as justice may be obstructed by flawed legal processes.

PBI Chief and Additional Inspector General of Police Mostafa Kamal also confirmed similar findings. He said most cases filed over the anti-discrimination student movement have already been investigated. However, medical certificates (MCs) are still pending in a few cases, which are being collected. He added that only a few investigations remain pending and final reports will soon be submitted to the court.

PBI Chief Mostafa Kamal said investigations have proven that innocent individuals were named as accused in many cases. He stated that in some instances, people with no involvement in the incidents were included in case documents. “Reports have been submitted to the court recommending the discharge of innocent individuals from such fabricated cases,” he said.

Citing examples of fabricated cases, the PBI chief said, “In a case filed over an incident in Narayanganj, residents of Hatiya, Sandwip, and even Panchagarh were made accused, despite never having visited Dhaka in their lives. Investigations found such inconsistencies, and in many cases, innocent names have been removed.”

He also referred to another incident, saying that in a case related to violence during the anti-discrimination student movement, the mother of an injured victim was named as an accused, along with several members of her family.

Later investigations revealed that the victim’s parents had divorced, and due to a family dispute, the father had included those names in the case without the son’s knowledge. The final report was later submitted after removing those names.

Across the country, numerous cases were filed in courts and police stations over the 2024 mass movement, involving charges of murder, attempted murder, torture, attacks, and vandalism. Of these, PBI is investigating 270 cases, 193 filed in magistrate courts (CR cases) and 77 filed at police stations (GR cases).

Investigations by Agamir Shomoy show that out of the 193 court cases, allegations have been proven in 92 cases. A total of 8,961 people were named as accused in these cases. Of them, 3,209 were found guilty and included in charge sheets, while 5,752 were cleared due to lack of evidence. This means 64.18 percent of the accused in these cases were found innocent or not linked to the allegations. Among the remaining 54 cases, 25 were found unproven, with 14 deemed false and 5 considered true but not substantiated.

In the cases filed at police stations, PBI reviewed 77 cases and submitted reports to court in 37 of them for disposal. A total of 904 people were accused in these cases. Investigations found evidence against 567 individuals, while 337 were not linked to the allegations and were recommended for discharge. This means 37.28 percent of the accused in police station cases were found innocent, while 62.72 percent were initially found guilty.

Overall, combining GR and CR cases, 9,865 people were accused. Of them, 6,089 were found innocent during investigations, meaning allegations against 61.72 percent of the accused were not substantiated. The investigation agency removed their names and submitted charge sheets to the court.

On August 4, 2024, at around 3 pm, an attempted murder case was filed in a court over allegations that a teenager named Shihab Uddin was shot during a student-public protest in front of the Companyganj Upazila Parishad gate in Sylhet. Fatema Akter Parul filed the case on behalf of Shihab, naming 17 accused and listing another 20 unidentified individuals before the Senior Judicial Magistrate’s Court in Sylhet. The Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) took charge of the investigation on December 30 of that year.

A review of the final report and related investigation findings shows that Shihab Uddin had participated in various programs of the anti-discrimination student movement at different times. Two days before the mass uprising, on August 3, he and his associates joined a rally in front of the Companyganj Upazila Parishad gate. The following day, as students and the public passed the same gate in a procession, clashes broke out with the police.

On August 5, students and the public gathered again in front of the parishad gate for a victory procession. Shihab was seen there wearing a red T-shirt. A few days later, he also appeared in another procession demanding the resignation of the principal of Tuker Bazar Shahid Smriti School and College, where he was seen wearing a black half-sleeve T-shirt.

Investigators noted that if Shihab had been shot on August 4, he could not have been seen actively participating at the front of processions on August 5 and August 11. However, video footage shows him standing at the front of the protest banners on those days.

Investigators found that Shihab was not shot at all. Instead, he was injured in a motorcycle accident. They said the incident was later used to file a fabricated attempted murder case against rivals. On August 4, his red Apache 4V motorcycle collided head-on with a three-wheeler (nosimon). The impact caused a rod injury to his left thigh, while he also sustained injuries to his right elbow and knee after falling on the road.

Investigators said Fatema Akter Parul’s uncle, Yakub Ali, is a local Awami League leader who faces multiple cases linked to violence during the anti-discrimination student movement. To target complainants in those cases, Shihab’s motorcycle accident was allegedly exploited. The injury was falsely presented as a gunshot wound, and an attempted murder case was filed in court.

Shihab, the grandson of Yakub Ali, was thus shown as a gunshot victim in a fabricated case that investigators say stemmed from a motorcycle accident.

Meanwhile, Mahmudul Hasan Robin, a student of Dhaka Aliya Madrasa, lost sight in his right eye during the July mass uprising. His father, Abdul Karim, a house painter, filed a case at Kadamtali Police Station in the capital over the incident.

In the case filed on August 31, 2024, 33 people were named as accused. During the investigation, the officer identified 18 individuals as involved in the incident, including one person whose name was not in the original FIR and was later added in the charge sheet. However, investigators found no evidence linking 16 of the named accused to the incident.

Investigation officer Sub-Inspector Md. Emdadul Haque of Kadamtali Police Station shared his experience with Agamir Shomoy. He said investigators have included only those accused against whom evidence of involvement in the incident was found in the charge sheet, while the rest were recommended for discharge.

Although investigators found the involvement of 18 individuals in the case related to Robin’s shooting, hundreds were initially named as accused. Speaking about the matter, Robin’s father Abdul Karim said the situation was misused and several names were included in the FIR without his knowledge.

“I have heard that charge sheets have been filed against 18 people based on the PBI investigation. My son was shot at the time. I was in a state of panic and confusion. Those who helped file the case included several names in the FIR without my knowledge,” he said.

The PBI said that among the 92 cases where allegations were proven, 10 were murder cases, while the remaining 82 were filed under other laws. It found 25 cases to be unproven, including six where the victims could not be traced. In 14 cases, the allegations were entirely fabricated. In four cases, investigators found no evidence due to lack of cooperation from the complainants and insufficient witness testimony. In one case, the complaint was allegedly filed under coercion.

Against this backdrop, legal experts have expressed concern over whether genuine victims will receive justice. Human rights organisation Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) President Manzill Murshid said many cases linked to the anti-discrimination student movement are now under question.

He told Agamir Shomoy that individuals with no involvement in the incidents were also named as accused, weakening the credibility of these cases and making it difficult to prove charges in court.

“If individuals are implicated in murder cases without credible evidence, such cases will not stand in court. The biggest victims will be the actual victims and their families, as the justice they expected may ultimately remain out of reach,” the senior Supreme Court lawyer added.