New murder trial launched against deposed Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina over death of fishmonger

A new murder case has been filed against Bangladesh's deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and 62 others, including former ministers in her cabinet, over the death of a fishmonger during protests against quota reforms in the country, a media report said on Monday. The case, filed late Sunday, is the latest in a series of cases against the 76-year-old leader, who resigned on August 5 and fled to India following massive student protests against a quota system in public jobs.

The petition was filed by Shahnaz Begum, the wife of Md Milon, who was shot dead on July 21 while on his way home from a local fish market, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.

A total of 62 people have been named as accused in the case, including Hasina, former Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, former MP Shamim Osman and former Interior Minister Asaduzzaman Khan.

According to the report, leaders and activists of Hasina-led Awami League and its affiliated organizations, armed with firearms and sticks, set up traffic obstructions on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway to disrupt the student movement.

It is alleged that Hasina, Quader and Asaduzzaman ordered the shooting and attack on protesting students and the public.

Milon, who was returning home from a local fish market at the time, was shot in the chest and collapsed on the road. He was taken to the Pro-Active Medical College and Hospital in the area, where he was declared dead, the report said. This brings the number of cases filed against Hasina following her ouster to over a dozen. Over 230 people have been killed in the violence that erupted across the country following the fall of the Hasina-led Awami League government, bringing the death toll to over 600 since massive student protests began in mid-July.

After the fall of the Hasina-led government, an interim government was formed and 84-year-old Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus was appointed chief adviser.