A curious tale of two cases

Two cases were filed over the killing of two men in the capital’s Jatrabari during the mass uprising that toppled the Awami League government.
The killings took place on July 18 and 19 and the circumstances surrounding the crimes were different but the seven-page first information statements (FIRs) filed with Jatrabari Police Station are almost identical, with the names, addresses, and other details of the two victims being the only differences.
Abu Bakar, 55, who claims to be the convener of Ward 63 Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal, filed both the cases on September 2 over the deaths of Sakib Hasan, 22, and Jahangir Alam, 50.
The same 442 individuals are accused in both cases.
Furthermore, Bakar, who is not related to either of the victims, filed the cases without informing the families. Grieving members of Sakib and Jahangir’s families were surprised when they were informed of the cases.
Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, former ministers– Obaidul Quader, Amir Hossain Amu, Hasan Mahmud, Asaduzzaman Khan, Dipu Moni, former inspectors general of police AKM Shahidul Hoque, Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun are among the accused.
Most of the other accused are leaders and activists of the Awami League, particularly from the Jatrabari, Demra, and Kadamtali areas.
Veteran Supreme Court lawyer ZI Khan Panna said such cases would not stand the scrutiny of a trial and it would be impossible to ensure justice for the victims.
“These cases seem to be aimed at harassing people,” he said, adding the FIR is crucial for proving a complaint and it must mention facts only.
Contacted, Jahangir’s 18-year-old daughter Mithila Akter, a resident of Jatrabari, said, “We lost our father. We should have been the ones filing the case.”
“Besides, the man sued several hundred people of our neighbourhood. Now these people hate us for no reason.”
She added that Bakar, who filed the case, “definitely has ill motives. He has accused people he wants to harm”.
“I want justice for my father. We also want punishment of the man who filed the case without telling us.”
Sakib’s father Mortoza Alam also said he was surprised when he heard about the case.
“Police shot my son dead. But the complaint is against political leaders and activists. “I want justice. I will file a case with the International Crimes Tribunal soon. I will sue only those who shot my son.”
Contacted on September 23, Bakar said he filed the cases to ensure justice for the victims.
About the identical wording in both cases, he said he could not discuss the matter further. He requested a follow-up call, but had not responded to calls later.
Like the two identical cases, this newspaper also found three cases filed with Badda Police Station on August 20 and 21, over the killings of Sumon Sikder, 31, Hafizul Sikder, 28, and Sohag Mia, 30.
All the three cases contain almost similar narratives and same number of the accused though the victims were killed in three places at different times.
Masuma filed a murder case accusing 179 people over the death of her son Sumon on July 19 on Pragati Sarani in Uttar Badda while Abubakar Sikder filed another murder case accusing the same people over the death of his son Hafizul in Merul Badda area on July 20.
Bellal Mia, 35, filed the third one against 178 people over the death of his brother Sohag on Gulshan Link Road on August 5.
Though the place of murder and dates are different, the narratives of the cases are identical and 178 accused in each of the three cases are same.
Masuma could not be contacted but her husband Yousuf Sikder, a leader of the Badda BNP, said, “We made them accused following suggestions from the party men.”
Another complainant named Abu Bakar said, “I know that if too many people are accused, justice can elude us. But a local BNP leader in Badda gave a list of people to accuse. I just signed the papers.”
Bellal Mia said, “I gave the names of the accused. I don’t know how these names matched with the names of previous cases.”
Talebur Rahman, deputy commissioner (media) of DMP, said police are not harassing anyone for being sued in cases. Police submit an investigation report to the court after analysing evidence.
The Police Headquarters has recently ordered officers to drop the names of individuals against whom there was no evidence.