An investigation into the murder of Bangladesh’s former prime minister Sheikh Hasina has been opened in connection with the police killing of a man during a public riot.
Six other top people in the previous government are also being investigated following the riots that killed many people in the capital Dhaka.
Ms Hasina resigned earlier this month, fleeing to neighboring India, as calls grew for her to step down.
A few hours after the case was opened against him, he asked for an investigation into the protests that led to his resignation.
In his first public statement since leaving the country, he called for those involved to be “identified and punished accordingly”.
More than 400 people were killed during the student protests that ended with Ms. Hasina being wanted. Many of them were shot by the police, according to his order.
Mamun Mia, the lawyer who brought the case against the former prime minister on behalf of a private citizen, he said that the Dhaka court had ordered the police to accept “murder charges against the suspects”.
This is the first step in a criminal investigation under Bangladesh law.
Businessman Amir Hamza filed a murder charge in July, after local shopkeeper Abu Saeed was shot in the head while crossing the street.
He told the court that on July 19, the students held a peaceful protest, claiming that the police fired indiscriminately into the crowd, according to BBC Bangla.
Mr. Hamza said he is not related to Mr. Saeed but he went to court because the grocer’s family did not have the money to open a case.
“I am the first ordinary citizen who showed the courage to take this legal action against Sheikh Hasina for her crimes. I will see the end of this case,” he told Reuters.
Magistrate Rajesh Chowdhury ordered the police to investigate the case, the first to be brought against Mrs. Hasina since the protests began.
Former Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader is among those being investigated.
Mrs. Hasina’s government, which ruled for 15 years, is accused of widespread human rights abuses and has been plagued by allegations of rampant corruption.
Student protests began in early July, beginning as peaceful calls for an end to public service job quotas, before turning into a wider movement that overthrew the government.
Ms. Hasina urged the police to crack down on the protesters, calling them “students but terrorists who intend to destroy the nation”.
The newly formed government consists of a majority of the protesters, and is supported by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus.
Ms. Hasina will return to the country when the election was announced, said his son Sajeeb Wazed Joy.
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