Tribunal issues arrest warrant against ex-MP, 4 cops for burning bodies of protesters

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has issued an arrest warrant against Saiful Islam, former lawmaker for Dhaka-19, and four police officials in a case filed over burning bodies of demonstrators in Dhaka’s Ashulia during July-August movement.

The arrest warrant was issued by the chairman of the ICT, justice Md Golam Mortuza Majumder, and the member of the tribunal, retired district and sessions judge Md Mohitul Haque Enam Chowdhury, on Tuesday morning.

A separate case (miscellaneous case) was registered at the ICT today, Tuesday regarding the burning of bodies in Ashulia. With this, a total of eight cases have been registered at the tribunal so far.

Speaking with newsmen over the case, the ICT’s chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam said, “A submission was made in the tribunal today. Six students were shot dead in the Ashulia area of Savar on 5 August. Their bodies were dragged into a rickshaw. After leaving them there for a while, a police van was brought there and the bodies were taken. The police van was taken in front of a shop near the police station and an attempt was made to set it on fire with petrol so that people don’t understand who killed them. If the police killed them and set the police car on fire, people might think that the students and the public had done the killing. Thus, they set the police van on fire to cover up the killing.”

Tajul Islam said the tribunal's investigation agency had carried out a detailed probe of the incident.

“The investigation revealed that apart from police, Dhaka-19 parliamentary constituency’s the then lawmaker Saiful Islam and Chhatra League men directly shot at the protesters that day. He and four police officials have been identified for their involvement with the incident,” Tajul added.

The tribunal has granted an arrest warrant against these five and asked the authorities to arrest them quickly.

The court has set 26 January as the next hearing day for the case, he added.

The ICT’s chief prosecutor said four police officials were directly linked with the killing and burning bodies of the victims.

“We won’t disclose their names so that they cannot flee. High-ups of the law enforcers have been notified so that those involved cannot escape,” said Tajul, adding that the four cops are not yet sacked from the force.

Tajul also said that an application is being made to issue arrest warrants against those specifically involved in the July-August massacre only after collecting information and evidence.

Prosecutors Gazi Monwar Hussain, BM Sultan Mahmud, Abdullah Al Noman and others were present at the hearing.