Case filed against ex-MP, 76 others over killing of Swechasebak Dal activist in Faridpur

A case has been filed against former member of parliament from Faridpur-2 seat Shahdab Akbar Chowdhury Labu and 76 others over the killing of a Swechasebak Dal activist during a procession of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on 23 October 2013.

Saleha Begum Saleh, mother of slain Swechasebak Dal activist Maruf Sheikh, lodged the case with Faridpur's Senior Judicial Magistrate Court yesterday (22 October).

Contacted, plaintiff of the case Saleha said, "My son died during a clash at the time of a strike called by BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami in 2013. I tried many times but couldn't file the case during that time. That's why I have filed the case after 11 years. At that time, police did not take my case saying that there won't be any other case except the one filed by police. I failed numerous times to file the case with police stations."

According to the case statement, the accused attacked the peaceful strike by BNP-Jamaat and killed Maruf on the spot. Another person named Saif Munshi became physically disabled due to the attack.

Lawyer AKM Habibur Rahman Hafiz, who stood for the plaintiff in court, said, "The court has accepted the case and asked Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to investigate the matter. As the case is old, the court has thought that CID's help is needed for investigation."

"After the incident in 2013, police had filed a case implicating the relatives of the plaintiff and some BNP men. At that time, police did not take our case into cognisance. The rule is to investigate a matter under both cases if two cases are filed over one incident. But police did not do that at that time. That's why we have filed a new case after 11 years," the lawyer added.

Earlier, Sub-Inspector of Nagarkanda police station Khalilur Rahman had filed a case in 2013 regarding this incident accusing 146 leaders and activists of BNP and Hefazat-e-Islam.