Canadian citizen Tanveer entangled in cases; plaintiffs unaware why he is accused

Tanveer Ali has been made an accused in at least four cases in connection with killings that occurred during the July mass uprising. Police, multiple investigation-related agencies, and documents indicate that there are questions regarding the very existence of the plaintiffs, witnesses, and even the crime scenes in these cases. Yet, more than a year has passed and he has not received any legal remedy. He is still required to appear regularly in court.

Tanveer Ali is a Canadian citizen of Bangladeshi origin. He is involved in investments and partnerships in more than 75 institutions in Bangladesh and abroad. The interim government has appointed him as an Independent Director of the state-owned institution Startup Bangladesh Limited. In 2025, he was a keynote speaker at the Bangladesh Investment Summit organised by the interim government.

Tanveer Ali is an accused in three murder cases filed at Gulshan, Uttara, and Jatrabari police stations, and in one attempted murder case at Rampura police station.

People involved in the investigation of these cases told Prothom Alo that Tanveer Ali has been framed in all of them. Close associates of his own family, centring on disputes over family business, have successively implicated him in these cases. This group has even remained active to ensure that he does not obtain bail smoothly.

A review of case documents shows that Tanveer Ali has been identified as a leader of the Gulshan Thana Awami League. One case describes him as the president of the Gulshan Thana Awami League, while another describes him as the vice-president. In all the cases, allegations have been brought against him as a planner and financier of killings that occurred during the student–public uprising.

During the student–public uprising, on 19 July 2024, Abdullah Al Abir, a support staff member of North South University, was shot dead in Bhatara, Dhaka. However, citing the location of the incident as within Gulshan Thana jurisdiction, a man named Mahmud Ahed Ali filed a complaint in court on 20 August. In the complaint, Tanveer Ali was identified as a leader of the Gulshan Thana Awami League. The place of occurrence was stated as Park Road Avenue in the Baridhara Society area of Gulshan. The police registered the complaint as a case and were instructed to investigate.

Along with Tanveer, nine others were made accused in the case. However, no one other than Tanveer was arrested.

Police investigation revealed that the plaintiff could not be traced, the mobile phone number used in the complaint was fake and not registered in anyone’s name, no killing occurred within Gulshan Thana jurisdiction on 19 July, and the witnesses were not identifiable. On 28 October 2024, Gulshan Thana police submitted a final report in the case, stating that the entire incident was fabricated.

Tanveer Ali told Prothom Alo that a powerful group, jealous of his business success, has implicated him in three murder cases and one attempted murder case. The government and law enforcement agencies know that he is not involved in any violence, yet even after a long time he has not received effective legal relief.

Highlighting the regular harassment and mental stress he faces due to the cases, Tanveer Ali said, “Being accused one after another in murder and attempted murder cases has left me mentally devastated. At the same time, there is a waste of labour, time, and money. I am unable to concentrate on my business activities.”

Meanwhile, in the investigation report, police stated that although Tanveer Ali was described as an Awami League leader, he is not involved in any politics. He is a Canadian citizen and a well-known businessman. He cannot even speak or write Bengali. Despite extensive efforts, the plaintiff Mahmud Ahed Ali could not be found, and therefore the result could not be communicated.

This report was submitted to the court by Sub-Inspector (SI) Romen Mia of Gulshan police station. He told Prothom Alo that whatever was found during the investigation was mentioned in the report.

Despite such a police report, Tanveer did not get relief from the case. On 25 October last year, the court sent the case to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for re-investigation. The CID is now investigating the case.

CID’s Chief Additional Inspector General Sibgat Ullah told Prothom Alo that the case has come to the CID for re-investigation under court order and they can comment on this after the investigation ends.

During the Anti-discrimination Student Movement, on 19 July 2024, a young man named Md Iman was shot dead in the Rayerbagh area of Jatrabari, Dhaka. Based on an application by Iman’s mother, Josna Begum, a murder case was filed at Jatrabari police station on 19 November of that year. The deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was made the principal accused in the case, while Tanveer Ali was named as the 83rd accused.

Plaintiff Josna told Prothom Alo that she does not know any of the accused in the case. She was taken to file the case by a local person with the assurance that she would receive government assistance if she filed it. She could not provide detailed information about the person through whom she filed the case.

Later, Josna Begum told the court that she does not know Tanveer Ali and has no complaint against him. She stated that she has no objection if Tanveer Ali is discharged from the case.

The case was initially investigated by Jatrabari police station Sub-Inspector (SI) Saddam Hossain. He told Prothom Alo that this was the second case related to Iman’s killing. Even before this case was filed, Iman’s relatives had filed another murder case at Kadamtali police station. That case is now being investigated by the Detective Branch (DB) police.

A murder case has been filed against Tanveer Ali at Uttara East police station. The plaintiff in this case is Mahbubul Alam. According to the complaint, on 5 August 2024, during the student–people movement, 18-year-old Nazim Uddin was shot in front of Uttara East police station. The principal accused in the case is the deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and Tanveer is the 93rd accused.

Despite trying for a month, the mobile phone number mentioned in the case statement for plaintiff Mahbubul Alam could not be reached. The case is being investigated by the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI).

People involved in the PBI investigation say that Tanveer Ali has been framed in this case as well. However, as the matter is under investigation, they were unwilling to comment officially.

Meanwhile, on 15 February last year, an attempted murder case was filed at Rampura police station in Dhaka. In this case, Sheikh Hasina is the principal accused for allegedly attempting to kill a young man named Nahid Hasan by shooting him. Tanveer is also the 93rd accused in this case.

In this case, Tanveer Ali was described as the vice-president of the Awami League’s Gulshan unit. He was alleged to be the financier and the main planner of the attack.

The mobile phone number provided by plaintiff Nahid Hasan in the case statement could not be reached despite attempts to contact him.

The investigating officer of the case, Md. Mohsin, told Prothom Alo that the investigation has not yet been completed and therefore nothing can be said at this moment.

When asked whether he knew anything about the plaintiff, as the plaintiff’s mobile phone number could not be reached, the investigating officer said that he also finds the number switched off. The plaintiff comes to the police station from time to time, and they meet then.

Following allegations that innocent people were being harassed for personal interests over incidents that occurred during the July mass uprising, the interim government initiated steps to add Section 173(A) to the Code of Criminal Procedure. The amended Section 173(A) of the Code of Criminal Procedure essentially provides a legal opportunity to protect innocent individuals from harassment at the preliminary stage of investigation.

Under this provision, if the Police Commissioner, District Superintendent of Police (SP), or an officer of SP rank considers it reasonable, they may instruct the investigating officer to submit a preliminary or interim investigation report of a case to the magistrate. Based on that report, if the magistrate finds that there is insufficient evidence supporting the allegations against a person, the magistrate may discharge that person from the case at the pretrial stage, before the commencement of trial.

Application of this provision has already begun. However, Tanveer Ali has not yet been discharged from any case.

Supreme Court lawyer Mujahidul Islam told Prothom Alo that Tanveer Ali is a businessman and has been framed by a group, which is known even at the highest levels of the government. Police reports have already been received in two cases. A person who is working with the government for the country is being harassed by being implicated in murder cases. He certainly deserves relief from these cases. If the investigation agencies wish, they can discharge Tanveer Ali under the amended Section 173(A) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

In Bangladesh, the concept of startup ventures began to gain recognition from 2013. After the start of the COVID pandemic, investment in the startup sector increased rapidly from 2020, particularly foreign investment. At the same time, some domestic initiatives also moved forward.

The interim government is also working to advance this startup initiative. As part of this effort, on 1 January 2025, the interim government appointed Tanveer Ali as an Independent Director of the Startup Investment Board.

Four and a half months before this appointment, on 20 August 2024, the first murder case was filed against Tanveer. On 7 September, he was detained at Shahjalal International Airport and taken to the office of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch (DB) office. After being detained for more than 12 hours, the DB police handed him over to Gulshan police. Later, Gulshan police arrested him and placed him on a three-day remand. After the remand, he was released on bail.

Tanveer Ali told Prothom Alo that when he was detained at the airport, he was not informed of anything. Plainclothes officers took him to the DB office. Later, he learned that a murder case had been filed against him. After being released on bail, he himself contacted the relevant offices, including at the highest levels, and challenged the allegations. Investigations proved that the cases were fabricated. That is why he was made a director of Startup Bangladesh, and he is now working with the government.

Tanveer Ali said, “The government and law enforcement agencies are saying that I have been framed. But even after one and a half years, I have not received any remedy. I do not even know when I will get relief. Yet I am working on behalf of this government.”

Regarding this matter, Secretary of the Information and Communication Technology Division and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Startup Bangladesh, Shish Haider Chowdhury, told Prothom Alo, “We are aware of the matter. We have information that he has been framed in these murder cases.”