Shapla Chattar crackdown: 41 'heavyweights' in the list of accused inclu Hasina, Aziz, Benazir

The prosecution of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on Monday submitted formal charges against 41 people, including ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and former army chief General (retd) Aziz Ahmed, over the May 5, 2013, crackdown on Hefazat-e-Islam’s Shapla Chattar rally in Dhaka.

Prosecutor Zahirul Amin submitted the charge sheet to the Registrar of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) at around 10:45AM. Prosecutor Marjina Raihan accompanied him.

A three-member bench of Tribunal-2, headed by Chairman Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, is scheduled to hold a hearing on the matter today.

Nine accused are currently in custody in the case.

They are former minister Dr Dipu Moni, former state minister for home affairs Shamsul Haque Tuku, Major General (retd) Ziaul Ahsan, former Inspector General of Police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Haque, former Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Mollah Nazrul Islam, Ghatak-Dalal Nirmul Committee advisory board president Shahriar Kabir, former DIG Abdul Jalil Mondal, and journalists Farzana Rupa and Mozammel Babu.

According to the prosecution, 58 people were killed at four locations, including Dhaka, in connection with the Hefazat rally on May 5, 2013.

The investigation agency has identified 32 victims in Dhaka, 20 in Narayanganj, five in Chattogram and one in Cumilla.