n relation to the police killing of a man during civil unrest last month, a court in Bangladesh opened a murder investigation on Tuesday against deposed former premier Sheikh Hasina and six other senior officials in her administration.
A week ago, Hasina, 76, fled by helicopter to neighbouring India, where she is still present, bringing an abrupt end to her dictatorial rule as demonstrators flooded Dhaka's streets.
In the weeks of turmoil before her overthrow, over 450 people lost their lives.
"A case has been filed against Sheikh Hasina and six more," stated Mamun Mia, an attorney representing an individual client.
He further stated that, in accordance with Bangladeshi law, police must accept "the murder case against the accused persons," as directed by the Dhaka Metropolitan Court.
Asaduzzaman Khan, Hasina's former home minister, and Obaidul Quader, the general secretary of Hasina's Awami League party, were also named in Mia's court filing.
It also lists the names of four senior police officers who were appointed by Hasina's administration but have subsequently left their positions. The seven are accused in the case of being accountable for the July 19 shooting death of a grocery store owner who was shot by police while they were violently quelling protests.
Amir Hamza Shatil, a "well-wisher" of the victim and a resident of the neighbourhood where the shooting occurred, was the one who filed the lawsuit, according to the Daily Star newspaper.
Numerous human rights violations, including the extrajudicial execution of thousands of Hasina's political rivals, were attributed to her government. Three days after Hasina's overthrow, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus returned from Europe to lead a provisional government tasked with enacting significant democratic reforms.
The 84-year-old is recognised for having lifted millions of Bangladeshis out of abject poverty and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his groundbreaking work in microfinance. "Chief adviser" to a caretaker government consisting of all civilians except retired brigadier general Sakhawat Hossain, who serves as home minister, he assumed office and declared his intention to hold elections "within a few months".
Hossain declared on Monday that the Awami League, led by Hasina and essential to the nation's independence movement, would not be prohibited by the government. As per reporrs, he said, "The party has made many contributions to Bangladesh -- we don't deny this.When the election comes, (they should) contest the elections."
