Bangladesh court orders arrest of ex-law minister, former election official

A Bangladeshi court has ordered the arrest of former Law Minister Anisul Huq over two cases linked to last year’s July protests, including murder and attempted murder charges.

Dhaka: A Bangladeshi court on Monday has ordered former Law Minister Anisul Huq to be shown arrested in connection with two cases linked to last year’s July demonstrations.

Additionally, former Election Commission (EC) Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed was also taken into custody in a separate case filed with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police station in Dhaka, on alleged charges of election manipulation, local media reported.

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Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Monirul Islam passed the order after the accused were produced before the court, granting the request of the investigation officers to have Anisul Huq shown arrested.

Huq was shown arrested in two cases over the alleged murder of an electrician named Mohammad Shawon Sikder and the attempted murder of another individual, Ashraful alias Fahin, in Lalbagh during last year’s July protests, leading Bangladeshi daily Jugantor reported.

Citing the case statement, local media reported that Shawon was shot dead on July 19 last year in front of Eden College in Dhaka while returning home during the protests. Subsequently, on January 21, a case was lodged against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and 40 others.

In the other case, Ashraful filed a case on 25 May against Hasina and 130 others, alleging that he was shot during the protests on July 18 inside Azimpur government colony in Dhaka.

Meanwhile, former Election Commission Secretary Helal Uddin was shown to be arrested in a case over allegations of election fraud and treason.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader (BNP) Salah Uddin Khan filed the case on June 22 at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police station, accusing three former chief election commissioners and 24 others of manipulating the 10th to 12th parliamentary elections.

On 25 June, additional charges of treason, fraud, and embezzlement were brought against them.

These latest developments come amid the ongoing crackdown on Awami League leaders, along with the officials associated with the party, under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government.

Earlier on Sunday, police took former MP Shafiqul Islam Opu into custody from his home on charges of vandalism and arson at the BNP office in the Jhenaidah district.

Opu was a former Awami League MP from Jhenaidah and also served as the president of the district unit of the party.

Analysts reckon the developments as a major political vendetta being pursued by the Yunus regime, as several cases were filed against the former Prime Minister Hasina and her party members on frivolous grounds immediately following her ouster in August 2024.

The unceremonious exit of Hasina last August was globally seen as a major setback to the democratic set-up in the country. The interim government has also received massive criticism for providing shelter to radical and extremist Islamic outfits.