Hasina, Ex-Army Chief Aziz Indicted in Shapla Case

The investigation agency of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has submitted its report to the prosecution in a case over the killings during the Hefazat-e-Islam rally at Shapla Chattar in Dhaka on May 5, 2013, naming 41 people as accused, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former Army Chief General Aziz Ahmed.

The report was formally handed over to the prosecution on Sunday morning.

ICT Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Aminul Islam said the submitted documents are now being reviewed in detail. He said investigators have so far confirmed the deaths of 32 people in Dhaka, but the final death toll could not yet be determined as the investigation remains ongoing.

The case includes several former senior officials among the accused, including the then Inspector General of Police (IGP), the Director General of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), and the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner.

The list of accused also includes former Ekattor TV Editor-in-Chief Mozammel Haque Babu, former Chief Reporter Farzana Rupa, journalist Shahriar Kabir, and several other media figures and intellectuals.

The prosecution said the investigation report will be formally placed before the International Crimes Tribunal on July 21, as scheduled.

The Shapla Chattar incident took place during a Hefazat-e-Islam rally in Dhaka in 2013, and the case is being investigated by the ICT over allegations related to deaths and violence during the crackdown