Dubious cases weaken quest for justice

A man named Labhlu Mia was shot dead in the capital’s Uttara during protests on the morning of August 5.
A month later, his cousin Dukhu Mia, a rickshaw-puller in the city, filed a murder case with Uttara East Police Station, accusing 221 people, 210 of whom are residents of Rangpur, the hometown of Dukhu and Labhlu.
The accused from Rangpur are mostly local Awami League leaders. The complaint mentions the names of 11 other accused and adds that Labhlu, 41, was killed at the behest of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and several other ministers.
The Daily Star has found five other cases filed at Uttara East and Jatrabari police stations over murders that took place during the mass uprising that ousted the Awami League government in early August.
In each case, the accused are mostly from the hometowns of the victims even though the killings in question happened in the capital.
Legal experts say that the cases may have been filed for reasons other than seeking justice, and this will undermine the credibility of the charges.
They also urge police to be careful when registering such cases.
“It will be impossible to ensure justice for the real victims through cases that seem to be aimed at harassing people,” veteran Supreme Court lawyer ZI Khan Panna told The Daily Star. 
Hasina, former ministers Obaidul Quader, Anisul Huq, Asaduzzaman Khan and Hasan Mahmud and some other influential leaders of the Awami League are among the remaining accused in the six cases analysed by this newspaper.
During AL’s 15-year rule, numerous cases were filed that appeared to be aimed at harassing hundreds of BNP-Jamaat leaders, activists, and dissidents. Putting them behind bars was the priority, rather than proving the charges in trial proceedings.
In multiple instances, opposition party members were accused of crimes that did not even take place. Dead people or those living abroad were accused of vandalism and arson.
Dukhu, the man who filed the case for his cousin Labhlu’s murder, persistently refused to talk to this newspaper.
A local AL leader from Rangpur, who was accused in the case, said, “I was in Pirganj on August 5. How could I have taken part in a killing in Dhaka? There were no means of travelling in those days. I think they accused me for the sole purpose of harassing me.”
On July 20, Muhammad Habib, 45, organising secretary of a front organisation of Liberal Democratic Party in the capital’s Kadamtali, was shot dead as police along with AL men opened fire on protesters, according to a case filed by his widow Ayesha Begum.
She filed the case on August 28 with Jatrabari Police Station accusing 57, of whom 50 are from Cumilla’s Chandina.
Contacted, Ayesha, a mother of four, said, “I just signed on the complaint. I had no idea who was being accused. A friend of my husband, also a leader of his party, made the list of accused. That man is from Cumilla. I just want justice for my husband.”
Anwar Hossain Aynal, who is from Bakshiganj, Jamalpur, filed a murder case with Uttara East Police Station over the killing of his brother Fazlul Karim on August 5. Of the 39 accused, 24 are from his hometown.
Anwar could not be reached for comment.
Asked why the accused are from Jamalpur, he said, “Many of them might have been in Dhaka and some were in the village… We requested the investigating officer to drop the names of those not involved in the incident.”
Akter Hossain, another person from Bakshiganj, filed a murder case with the same police station against 17 over a murder on August 5. Eleven of the accused are from Bakshiganj upazila.
Akter said police and AL men fired at the victory procession that day, killing his younger brother Ripon.
“I visited the spot after the incident and came to know that the people from my upazila were there during the killing,” he said.
On August 5, Mirazul Islam, 21, got shot in Jatrabari area around 9:00am. He died three days later.
His father Abdus Salam, a resident of Lalmonirhat, on August 24 filed a murder case with Jatrabari Police Station against 36 people, including three former lawmakers from the district. No police or ruling party men, who were seen by locals shooting in the area that day, were accused in the case.
Khurshid Alam Khan, a noted criminal law expert, said, “It is clear that such cases are aimed to harass. Police should be cautious.
“Moreover, the complainants may face legal trouble for filing such cases.”
The government maintains that no innocent individuals will be harassed in these cases.
The Police Headquarters on September 10 ordered officers to drop the names of individuals against whom there was no evidence.
ZI Khan said, “The government should make a list of dubious cases and ensure that no innocent people suffer. The Supreme Court can also seek a list of these cases from the government and give the necessary directives.”