Plaintiff now appeals to drop ZI Khan Panna’s name

Plaintiff Md Baker has appealed to exclude the name of Supreme Court senior lawyer ZI Khan Panna from the case statement of the attempt to murder case filed earlier.

Officer-in-charge (OC) of capital’s Khilgaon police station Md Daud told Prothom Alo that the appeal was filed around 12:00 pm today, Monday. Md Baker had filed a case against 180 people including ZI Khan Panna with the same police station on the allegation of a murder attempt on his son Ahadul.

The case filed against ZI Khan Panna brought charges of attempt to murder a person named Ahadul Islam, by shooting and beating him up on 19 July during the quota reform movement. Ahadul’s father Md Baker filed the case with Khilgaon police station almost three months after the incident on 17 October. ZI Khan Panna is accused No. 94 in the case.

After the case was filed against this acclaimed Supreme Court lawyer and human rights activist, waves of criticism swept across the country.

Meanwhile, ZI Khan Panna received anticipatory bail in that attempt to murder case today. A High Court bench has granted him bail until the police report is submitted in this case.

Plaintiff of the case, Md Baker told Prothom Alo this morning that he doesn’t know ZI Khan Panna. He filed the case after speaking to the lawyers of BNP and Jamaat with the assistance of police.

The same person, Md Baker came to the police station around 12:00 pm today and appealed to exclude the name of lawyer ZI Khan Panna from the case, stated Khilgaon police station OC Md Daud.

The appeal stated, “Bangladesh Supreme Court lawyer ZI Khan Panna, 65, mentioned at serial No. 94 of the case statement concerned was accused out of ignorance in a mistake. Please file a report after investigating the case excluding the person described on that serial No.”

However, Md Baker’s cellphone was found switched off when tried to contact him about the matter of this appeal.

Khilgaon police station OC Md Daud Hossain told Prothom Alo, “We have received the appeal from plaintiff Md Baker. He himself came to submit that. Look, his signature is also there. I’ll now send this appeal to the investigating officer. Md Baker was not forced into submitting the appeal to exclude the name. He submitted it on his own.”

ZI Khan Panna is the chairperson of rights organisation Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK). He was vocal against Digital Security Act, human rights abuses and infringement on freedom of speech during the reign of Awami League.

A group of lawyers had filed a petition at the High Court on 29 July seeking an order to stop firing on the students during the quota reform movement ZI Khan Panna had presented the argument in favour of that petition at the court. He was also a member of the national mass inquiry commission formed under civilian initiative on 29 July for fair investigation of the attacks carried upon students. 

According to the case statement, while Ahadul Islam along with some others were demonstrating in front of Meradia Bazar in Khilgaon on the afternoon of 19 July, many of the accused, unidentified BGB and RAB members as well as leaders of Awami League under the order of some other accused opened fire on them. Ahadul was shot at the time. When he fell to the ground, the accused present at the scene also beat him up.

Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, former environment, forest and climate change minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury, former IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun and current director general of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui have been named as accused in the case.