A court in Bangladesh has ordered an investigation into former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s alleged role in the police killing of a man during the deadly protests that led to her ouster, state media reported Tuesday.
Hasina, who fled the country earlier this month following weeks of unrest, is accused, along with other top officials, in the death of a grocery store owner on July 19, according to news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha.
The murder complaint, filed Tuesday in the Dhaka Metropolitan Court, is the first legal case to be filed against Hasina following her deadly crackdown on huge protests against government employment quotas, that erupted across Bangladesh last month.
About 300 people were killed in clashes between students, government supporters and armed police, according to analysis by local media and agencies. At least 32 of those killed were children, according to the United Nations’ children’s agency.
The murder case also names Hasina’s former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, the general secretary of her party, and four former top police officers.
In her first public remarks since leaving Bangladesh, Hasina on Tuesday called for an investigation into the “heinous killings and acts of sabotage” during the protests.
Her statement, posted on X via her son, did not mention the murder case against her, but said acts of “sabotage, arson, and violence” had resulted in “many innocent citizens of our country losing their lives.”
“I demand a thorough investigation to identify and bring to justice those responsible for these heinous killings and acts of sabotage,” Hasina said.
What started as protests against the government’s quota system, which reserves 30% of civil service posts for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971, became a nationwide movement to push Hasina out.
The violent response from Hasina’s government only added further fuel to the fire, even as quotas were rolled back.
When the protests escalated, Hasina blamed the opposition for the violence and imposed internet blocks and an indefinite curfew across the country.
In the end, Hasina fled to neighboring India, ending her 15-year rule and prompting jubilation on the streets of Dhaka as crowds stormed her official residence, smashing walls and looting its contents.
The country’s parliament was dissolved, and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus is now heading a caretaker government, with elections due to be held within 90 days.