53 former secretaries have been made accused in a case filed over attempts to murder by indiscriminately firing at protesters during the Student's against Discrimination Movement.
Allegations have been made in the case that former secretaries are the 'agents of intelligent agencies of a different country'.
In the case, the accused former secretaries are described as "collaborators of fascism, harmful to the state, and corrupt officials." Among the accused is Mohammad Mahbub Hossain, who retired just a month ago as the cabinet secretary. Others include former cabinet secretary Kabir Bin Anwar, former principal secretary Ahmad Kaikaus, Abdus Sobhan Sikder, and Tofazzal Hossain Mia.
On 29 October, the case was filed at the chief metropolitan magistrate's (CMM) court in Dhaka by Mohammad Zaman Hossain Khan, a former leader of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, student wing of BNP. He is currently involved in BNP politics and runs a contractor firm. In total, 196 people have been named as defendants in the case.
The number one accused in the case is former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Other accused include Sheikh Rehana, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, Sayma Wazed, former prime Minister's security advisor Major General (Retd.) Tariq Ahmed Siddique, a former chief justice, a former chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission, and former Inspector Generals of Police. Former leader of the opposition in parliament, GM Quader, is also on the list.
Following the fall of the Awami League government after the student-people's uprising on 5 August, several former secretaries have been accused in separate cases. However, this is the first case where 53 former secretaries have been made accused together.
In his complaint, Zaman Hossain Khan mentions that his daughter, Samiya Khan, a 10th-grade student of Ideal School and College in Banshree, went to join the peaceful protest against discrimination at the East West University area in Aftabnagar on 5 August. While participating in the peaceful movement, armed terrorists from the Awami League and its affiliated bodies opened fire on the protesters, during which Samiya was shot. She still has three bullets lodged in her leg.
Zaman Khan claims that nearly three months after the incident, he first went to the Badda police station to file a case, but was advised to take it to court. He then filed the case with the CMM court, which has instructed the police bureau of investigation (PBI) to investigate it.
Regarding the 53 former secretaries being named in the case, Zaman Khan told Prothom Alo that as a politically conscious citizen and politician, he is familiar with these individuals.
He said he was not provoked but was outraged, accusing these former secretaries of assisting the fascist Awami League government in staying in power for an extended period. The role of those, who have become secretaries between 2009 and 2024, is not acceptable. They have not advised the government properly. The national elections were controversial. Those who were involved in election activities didn't act properly.
Zaman Khan also said that he was a former student leader at Titumir College in 1994-95 and is now involved in BNP politics and a registered contractor of the public works department.
When asked about making 196 people accused, he said that he had named former opposition leader GM Quader and leaders of the 14-party alliance, accusing them of also being responsible for turning Awami League into a fascist party.
More accused among former secretaries
Among the former secretaries named in the case are Iqbal Mahmud, former chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and former secretary of the public administration ministry, Kamal Uddin Ahmed, former chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Nasima Begum, another former NHRC chairman, Abdur Rouf Talukdar, former Governor of Bangladesh Bank, and Mohammad Sadiq, former chairman of the Public Service Commission (PSC), among others. He has served as the former secretary of the election commission.
Among the other former secretaries named in the case are Mozammel Haque Khan, Juena Aziz, Farid Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury, Abu Hena Mohammad Rahmatul Munim, Helaluddin Ahmed, Faiz Ahmed, Sajjadul Hasan, Salah Uddin, Lokman Hossain Mia, Abdul Mannan, Abdul Mannan Howerdar, Abu Hena Morshed Zaman, Wahida Akter, Hedayetullah Al Mamun, Makhsudur Rahman Patowari, Mohibul Haque, Ujjal Bikash Dutta, Jahangir Alam, MAN Siddique, Shahjahan Ali Molla, Shyamal Kanti Ghosh, Iqbal Khan Chowdhury, Mortuza Ahmed, Khondokar Shawkat Hossain, Niyaz Uddin Mia, Zafar Ahmed Khan, Barun Dev Mitra, M Aslam Alam, Rafiqul Islam, Chowdhury Md Babul Hasan, Suraiya Begum, Nazrul Islam Khan, Shahidullah Khondkar, Abdul Malek, Zillar Rahman, Ibrahim Hossain Khan, Shampad Borua, Paban Chowdhury, Aparup Chowdhury, Shamshuddin Azad Chowdhury, Akhtari Mamtaz, Shah Kamal, and Prashanta Kumar Roy.
Prothom Alo spoke to two of the former secretaries listed as accused. On condition of anonymity, they confirmed that they are aware of the case but do not know the person who filed the complaint. They stated that filing such an indiscriminate case against former secretaries would set a bad precedent for public administration in the future.
The case also includes the current additional secretary of the election commission (EC) secretariat, Forhad Ahmed Khan, former additional secretary Jesmin Tuli, former joint secretaries Abul Kashem and Mohammad Abdul Baten, and former director of the EC secretariat’s NID wing, Forhad Hossain. Among them, Jesmin Tuli is now a member of the election system reform commission.
More accused
The list of accused also includes several prominent political figures, such as former ministers Obaidul Quader, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, Rashed Khan Menon, Hasanul Haq Inu, Dilip Barua, Muhibul Hasan Chowdhury, former information and broadcasting state minister Mohammad A Arafat, former information and technology affairs state minister Zunaid Ahmed, Jubo League president Sheikh Fazle Shams Taposh, Dhaka north and south city corporation former mayors Atiqul Islam and Sheikh Fazle Noor respectively.
The case also includes former chief justice Khairul Haque, former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun, and three senior journalists. They are Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, Mozammel Babu, and Naem Nizam.
When asked about the naming of 53 former secretaries in a single case, Supreme Court lawyer Shahdeen Malik told Prothom Alo that filing a case with the intention of harassing someone is a criminal offence under the criminal code.
He criticized the case as a form of harassment, adding that many of the accused officials had left their positions five years ago. This case has been filed mainly with the intention of harassment. Those who are real culprits will go unpunished.