The International Crimes Tribunal-2 has set 17 November for a hearing on framing charges against ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and seven others over the killing of nine people during a police operation at Jahaj Bari in Dhaka’s Kalyanpur in 2016.
The tribunal fixed the date on Wednesday after granting a time petition filed by the defence. The hearing was scheduled for Wednesday, but defence lawyer Sifat Mahmud sought more time.
The prosecution did not oppose the petition, prompting the tribunal to set a new date.
There are eight accused in the case, including Hasina. Of them, two are in custody, while the other six remain at large despite newspaper notices asking them to surrender, according to case proceedings.
The two detained accused are former inspector general of police AKM Shahidul Haque and former Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner Md Asaduzzaman Mia.
The six fugitives are former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal; Sheikh Mohammad Maruf Hasan, then additional commissioner of the DMP; Monirul Islam, then chief of the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit; Krishna Pada Roy, then DMP joint commissioner (crime); and Abdul Baten, then joint commissioner (detective branch).
On 29 January, the tribunal took cognisance of the charges against the eight accused and issued arrest warrants against those who were at large.
Nine killed in 2016 operation
On 25 July 2016, the police Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit conducted a special operation, code-named “Operation Storm-26”, at a building known as Jahaj Bari in Kalyanpur.
Nine young men were shot dead during the operation. At the time, the government and law enforcement agencies identified them as militants.
The killings later became the subject of allegations that the operation was staged and that the deaths amounted to extrajudicial killings.
A case alleging crimes against humanity was subsequently brought in connection with the incident.
The victims’ families and complainants have alleged that the killings were politically motivated. The allegations are now being examined through judicial proceedings.
The case was initially pending before International Crimes Tribunal-1 before being transferred to International Crimes Tribunal-2.
