Shakib among 147 named in FIR for alleged murder during Bangladesh unrest

DHAKA (Agencies): Star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is among 147 people against whom charges have been filed in connection with an alleged murder during the protests in Bangladesh in early August, an officer at Dhaka’s Adabor police station, where the case was filed, confirmed to media on Friday. The case, of the death of a garment worker, was filed on Thursday by Rafiqul Islam, father of the deceased Mohammed Rubel. Apart from being Bangladesh’s most famous cricketer, Shakib is a former member of parliament of the Awami League, the party that was in power in Bangladesh until earlier this month. Sheikh Hasina, the prime minister of the Bangladesh at the time of the protests, and many former ministers and lawmakers from the party are among the accused.

Shakib is either the 27th or 28th accused in the first information report (FIR), the confirmed. However, Shakib was not in Bangladesh on August 5, or at any time during the protests that led to the resignation of Hasina, following which she fled the country. Shakib was in Canada at the time, leading Bangla Tigers Mississauga at the Global T20 Canada league, being played in Brampton. Prior to that, Shakib was in the USA to take part in Major League Cricket until mid-July before flying to Canada where he played from July 26 to August 9. The Daily Star reported that “the case statement mentions that the complainant alleged that some of the accused as per instruction directly or indirectly from some others opened fire while hundreds of students including Rubel were protesting at Ring Road in Adabor area on August 5”. Rubel was wounded in the firing and died in a hospital after two days, the FIR said.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has put the number of deaths during the unrest at over 400 – between July 16 and August 4 – while some reports have put the number at over 650, with many people reported missing. Following the fall of the Awami League, an interim government has been put in place in Bangladesh, and there have been significant changes at the Bangladesh Cricket Board too, where former national captain Faruque Ahmed has taken charge as the president. Shakib became a member of parliament after winning the general elections in January this year from his hometown of Magura. He is currently playing the Rawalpindi Test against Pakistan.