Sheikh Hasina, Nowfel, 32 others sued in murder case

Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, former education minister Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury Nowfel, and 32 others have been accused in a case filed over the death of college student Tanvir Siddiqui in the Bahaddarhat area of Chattogram.

The case was filed by Mohammad Parvej, the victim's uncle, at Chandgaon police station on Friday night.

A total of 34 people, including Sheikh Hasina and Nowfel, have been named as accused, while an additional 40 to 50 individuals have been accused anonymously, according to Jahidul Kabir, officer-in-charge (OC) of the police station.

Among the other accused are Mashiur Rahman Chowdhury, the forest and environment affairs secretary of the Chattogram Awami League; Esrarul Haque, ward councillor at Chandgaon; Shaibal Das, ward councillor at Jamalkhan; Nur Mustafa, ward councillor at Chawkbazar; and Nurul Azim Rony, former general secretary of the Chattogram Chhatra League.

According to the case statement, Tanvir Siddiqui, along with other students, were peacefully protesting on the street in front of the Bahaddarhat kitchen market during the shutdown programme of the Students Against Discrimination on 18 July.

At around 4:30 pm, a group of people, armed with machetes and firearms, arrived from the Wapda office area and attacked the student protesters, as per orders from the former prime minister and the education minister. They threw brick-chips and opened fire indiscriminately at the protesters.

During the attack, Tanvir Siddiqui and several others sustained bullet wounds and fell to the ground. He was taken to Chittagong Medical College Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.

OC Jahidul Kabir told Prothom Alo that the murder case is being processed for investigation.

During the shutdown programme, there were extensive clashes between the student protesters, the police, and members of the Awami League in the Bahaddarhat area on 18 July. At least two people were reported to have died in the clashes.