A former senior secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs Md Jahangir Alam has been shown arrested in connection with the murder of Dhaka City Corporation cleaner Ripon during the anti-discrimination student movement.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Nazmin Akhter passed the order on Wednesday, following an application by the investigating officer Inspector Mohsin Uddin of the Lalbagh Zone team, who presented the former official before the court.
According to the prosecution, on 5 August 2024, a peaceful programme of the anti-discrimination student movement was underway at the Sadarghat DIT Bazar intersection under Kotwali Police Station around 10am.
It is alleged that activists from the Awami League, Chhatra League, Jubo League, and other affiliated organisations launched a coordinated armed attack on the demonstrators.
During the unrest, Ripon, 36, was shot in the neck and collapsed.
He was rushed to the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, where he succumbed to his injuries later that night. Following the incident, the victim’s wife filed a murder case with Kotwali Police Station.
Representing the former secretary, Advocate Farzana Yasmin Rakhi confirmed the court’s order but strongly contested the proceedings.
She informed the court that her client is currently in poor health and was brought to the dock in a wheelchair.
“He is very ill,” Advocate Rakhi stated, suggesting that bringing him to court in such a condition was intended as a form of harassment.
She further argued that while the case was initiated in 2024, no investigation report has been produced in the 19 months since.
The defence maintained that during his tenure as secretary, Jahangir Alam was merely carrying out his professional responsibilities and had no scope for personal decision-making regarding the events in question.
