STAFF CORRESPONDENT

The Detective Branch of police yesterday submitted a charge sheet against 17 people, including prime accused Faisal Karim Masud (currently absconding), in the murder of Inqilab Moncho spokesperson Sharif Osman Bin Hadi.

The charge sheet, filed with the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court, says that the killing was masterminded by Taijul Islam Chowdhury Bappi, 43, a former councillor of Ward-6 under Dhaka North City Corporation and organising secretary of the Jubo League’s Dhaka (north) city unit.

The murder of Hadi, an MP aspirant from a Dhaka constituency, sparked widespread protests and political outrage. A frontliner of the July uprising, the 32-year-old was shot on December 12, just a day after the election schedule was announced. On December 18, he died in a Singapore hospital, where he was receiving advanced treatment. The killing raised serious concerns about the safety of candidates and the electoral environment.

Charges have been brought under Sections 120B, 302, 201, 109, and 34 of the Penal Code, carrying punishments ranging from the death penalty and life imprisonment to lesser jail terms and fines.

Additional Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police and DB chief Md Shafiqul Islam confirmed the submission of the charge sheet at a press conference at the DMP Media Centre yesterday.

Shafiqul said Hadi had launched a non-traditional political platform and delivered fierce speeches criticising the Awami League and its student wing, which angered leaders and activists of the now banned Chhatra League.

The murder, according to him, was carried out as political retaliation.

He claimed Bappi instructed Faisal, allegedly linked to Chhatra League politics, to execute the murder and arranged his escape.

“Based on the victim’s political statements and the political identities of the accused, the investigation clearly

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