Hadi murder: Charge sheet to be filed within 10 days, home adviser says

Investigators expect to submit the charge sheet in the Sharif Osman Hadi murder case within 10 days, Home Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said today.

Briefing reporters after the law and order core committee meeting at the Secretariat, he said the meeting reviewed the overall law and order situation, security preparations for the 13th National Election, progress in the Hadi murder case, Operation Devil Hunt Phase-2, and the security of politically important individuals.

"The interim government is determined to ensure justice for the [Hadi] killing," he said, adding that police, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and intelligence agencies are working closely and in coordination to uncover the facts behind the murder.

He said authorities have made significant progress, but everything cannot be disclosed at this moment to protect the integrity of the investigation and to identify both the perpetrators and those who backed them.

He said 11 people have so far been arrested in the case, including the wife and parents of the alleged mastermind Faisal Karim Masud.

Among the arrestees, six gave confessional statements under Section 164, while four witnesses also gave statements under the same provision, the adviser said.

Investigators seized two foreign pistols used in the murder, 52 rounds of bullets, magazines and a knife; the motorcycle used in the killing along with a fake number plate; shell casings, bullets, video footage, CCTV footage and other evidence from the scene; and signed cheques worth Tk 218 crore from about 53 accounts, he said.

Based on information from the arrestees, witness statements, review of recovered evidence and an overall assessment, the investigation is in its final stage, he said.

"I request everyone to remain patient," he said, adding that a decision has already been made to transfer the case to a speedy trial tribunal.

The adviser also urged people not to do anything that would strengthen fascist collaborators, criminals and terrorists or obstruct the trial process.

"I want to assure you that the trial in the Hadi murder case will be completed within the tenure of the current interim government," he said.

The home adviser urged political parties to remain vigilant about infiltrators, saying, "We have received information that some leaders and activists, without knowing properly, are giving space to fascist collaborators, terrorists and miscreants."

Regarding garment worker Dipu Chandra Das killing in Mymensingh, he said Rab arrested seven people in this connection, while the district police's detective branch arrested 11 more.