5 charged over shooting of youth hanging from Rampura building cornice

Formal charges have been filed against five individuals in connection with the shooting of Amir Hossain, who was shot while hanging from the rooftop cornice of a building in Rampura during the July-August movement last year.

Prosecutor Faruk Ahmad submitted the charges on Thursday at the International Crimes Tribunal-1, accompanied by Prosecutor Saimum Reza Talukdar.

The accused include former Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Habibur Rahman, former ADC of Khilgaon Zone Md. Rashedul Islam, former OC of Rampura Police Station Md. Moshiur Rahman, former ASI of Rampura Police Outpost Chanchal Chandra Sarkar, and former SI of Rampura Police Station Tarikul Islam Bhuiyan.

The investigation report was handed over to the Chief Prosecutor’s office on July 31, following a tribunal order issued on July 14 requiring the report within two months. The directive was issued by a three-member panel led by Justice Md. Golam Mortuza Majumder, chairman of the International Crimes Tribunal-1.

According to the probe, on July 19 last year, Amir Hossain was returning to his aunt’s home in Dhaka after working at a hotel in Rampura. Upon encountering police and Border Guard Bangladesh vehicles along the Bonosree-Meradiah road, he climbed onto the rooftop of a nearby four-story building under construction to avoid arrest.

Police pursued him to the rooftop, where Amir clung to the cornice rods in a desperate attempt to save his life. One officer fired six rounds at him, causing him to fall to the third floor. Bystanders rushed to rescue him and took him to a hospital in Bonosree, before he was transferred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. After lengthy treatment, Amir eventually returned home.

Former ASI Chanchal Sarkar, accused of firing the shots, was arrested on January 26 in Dighinala, Khagrachhari, following an operation by Dhaka Metropolitan Police led by International Crimes Tribunal prosecutor Tanvir Hasan Johar.