Court Orders Former PM Sheikh Hasina and 177 Others to Appear in Feni Student Murder Case
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A Feni court has issued a public notice ordering former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, former Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, and 176 other individuals to appear before the judiciary within 10 days in connection with the killing of college student Mahabubul Hasan Masum during last year’s mass uprising. The notice, signed by Chief Judicial Magistrate Muhammad Salamat Ullah and published in a national daily on Saturday, stipulates that if the accused fail to comply, the trial will proceed in their absence.
The case stems from the fatal shooting of Masum, a fourth-year honors student at Abdul Haque Chowdhury Degree College, during the anti-discrimination student movement in Feni’s Mohipal area on August 4, 2024. The victim, who sustained critical bullet wounds to his head, chest, and back, succumbed to his injuries three days later at Chittagong Medical College Hospital, becoming one of nine people killed in the locality that day.
বিজ্ঞাপন
Following the incident, the victim’s brother, Mohammad Mahmudul Hasan, filed a murder case at Feni Model Police Station on September 4, 2024, naming Sheikh Hasina, Obaidul Quader, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and numerous other local political figures. According to court records, the investigation led to a charge sheet filed against 221 individuals in July 2025. In January 2026, the Senior Judicial Magistrate’s Court formally accepted the charges and issued arrest warrants for 171 of the accused.
The list of high-profile defendants includes former Jatiya Party MP Masud Uddin Chowdhury and local Awami League leader Nizam Uddin Hazari, alongside various former municipal mayors and upazila chairmen accused of inciting or directing violence against demonstrators. While police have successfully apprehended 51 suspects—some of whom have provided confessional statements—the judicial process has faced scrutiny, with reports of some charged individuals securing bail, triggering backlash from the families of the victims and student activists.
বিজ্ঞাপন
Since the collapse of her administration on August 5, 2024, Sheikh Hasina has remained in India, while a significant portion of her former cabinet members and senior party leadership fled the country to avoid prosecution. The current legal proceedings serve as a pivotal effort to address the accountability of the ousted regime for the widespread violence that marked the transition of power.
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