Former cabinet secretary Md. Mahabub Hossain has been made the fourth accused in a case over the shooting and killing during the anti-discrimination student movement. However, there has been some confusion about whether he is the current cabinet secretary Md. Mahbub Hossain.
According to the information on the Cabinet Division's website, there have been 23 previous Cabinet Secretaries before Mahbub Hossain, but none were named Mahbub. This has led to questions about whether the last Cabinet Secretary, Mahbub Hossain, has been mistakenly named in the case.
Md Nadeem, uncle of Mehdi, who was martyred in the student movement, filed a murder case with Jatrabari police station on October 6.
The confusion arises because other prominent figures have been named as accused in the case filed with the Police Station. These include former Cabinet Secretary Anwarul Islam, former Principal Secretaries to the Prime Minister's Office Tofazzal Hossain Mia and Ahmed Kaikaus, former Senior Secretaries to the Ministry of Public Administration Mezbah Uddin Chowdhury and Faez Ahmed, and former Secretary Anisur Rahman, who also served as an Election Commissioner.
Journalists attempted multiple times to contact Mahbub Hossain via phone regarding this case but got no response. Attempts to reach his personal secretary Kazi Shahjahan also failed as his phone was switched off.
Earlier, a case was filed against former Cabinet Secretary Kabir Bin Anwar. Additionally, two former Principal Secretaries, Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury and Abul Kalam Azad, were arrested last week. Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury was an advisor to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, while Abul Kalam Azad was elected a Member of Parliament from Jamalpur-5 in the last national election.
Legal experts have expressed concern about the broad and indiscriminate filing of cases, pointing out that specific charges are required in murder cases. However, the trend seems to be to name multiple individuals without adequate scrutiny. Experts argue that the government needs to issue clear guidelines for the police to follow when accepting cases.
The Jatrabari Murder Case
According to the case statement, on 19 July, in Rayerbagh, Jatrabari, there was a peaceful march by students and civilians. At that time, Khokon, the Joint General Secretary of the Tekehat Unit of the Kamrangirchar Awami League, along with other leaders, launched an armed attack on the protesters. Bullets were fired at the students, and one bullet hit an 18-year-old named Mehedi Hasan in the chin. He was taken to the hospital, where he was declared dead.
Mehedi's uncle Md. Nadim filed the murder case on Sunday with Jatrabari Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Jatrabari Police Station Md. Faruq Ahmed confirmed the case but declined to provide further details.
The number one accused in the case is former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Others include former Food Minister Kamrul Islam, former Inspector Generals of Police (IGP) Shahidul Haque and Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun.
BDST: 1236 HRS, OCT 07, 2024
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