Slow Investigation Stalls Chittagong July Uprising Cases Amid Calls for Justice
Photo Collected
Nearly two years after the July uprising, authorities in Chittagong have made limited progress in processing the 151 legal cases filed in connection with the mass protests. Investigations have concluded for only 15 of these cases, resulting in 12 charge sheets and three final reports. Among the completed files, only one pertains to a murder, sparking growing frustration among the families of victims who demand swift justice and the prosecution of those responsible for the violence.
Court and police records indicate that the cases are split between 69 filed at local police stations and 82 submitted directly to courts as criminal complaints. These filings collectively implicate approximately 13,450 named individuals and at least 30,000 unidentified suspects. The list of the accused includes not only former members of the Awami League and its affiliate organizations but also local business figures and professionals. While 1,600 arrests have been made across these cases, approximately one-third of those detained have already secured bail.
High-profile individuals named in the complaints remain at large, including former Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud, former Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury, and former Chittagong City Mayors A.J.M. Nasir Uddin and Rezaul Karim. Other notable figures mentioned in the filings include central Jubo League leader Helal Akbar Chowdhury and former city Chhatra League General Secretary Nurul Azim.
The investigation into the murder of shop assistant Shahidul Islam, who was fatally shot in the Chandgaon area on August 3, 2024, stands as one of the few instances of formal progress. The court accepted a charge sheet on September 25, 2024, naming 232 individuals, including high-ranking former ministers. According to the investigation, the victim was struck by 10 bullets from shotguns and rifles while attempting to return home through a protest site.
Other families remain trapped in a cycle of uncertainty. The father of Kawsar Mahmud, a university student who died in October after being shot during the unrest, expressed confusion after discovering that a deceased person had been named as an accomplice in his son’s murder case. Meanwhile, the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) reported that some cases, including one involving 28 journalists, were found to lack evidence or credible witnesses, leading to final reports being submitted to the court.
Law enforcement officials attribute the slow pace of the investigations to the high volume of “blanket” filings, which often include erroneous names or lack sufficient evidence. Deputy Commissioner of Police Neshar Ahmed stated that investigators are prioritizing the verification of claims to ensure that innocent individuals are not wrongly implicated, noting that the remaining cases are now in their final stages. Authorities expect to submit several more charge sheets to the court within the next one to two months following mandatory reviews by senior officials.
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