The story of Saifuddin Mohammad Emdad is another example of how the Yunus Gang has been abusing power and influencing the police and the courts to file false cases and harass five-time prime minister Sheikh Hasina, her ministers and party members, civil society leaders and anyone else who spoke against the conspiracy and anarchy in July-August.
Two cases have been filed over the injuries to Saifuddin, an Alia madrasa student in Dhaka, who was seen demanding proper treatment for the injured and managed to take photos with Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus.
On March 20, MA Hashem Raju, a former central vice-president of the BNPโs student wing, Chhatra Dal, filed the first case with the Dhaka CMM court for grievous injuries to Saifuddin at the Hotel InterContinental intersection at Paribagh on August 4 as an eyewitness.
Raju has a lot more fancy designations; for example, he is the chief coordinator of the Fascist Ouster Movement and the president of the Bangladesh chapter of the International Human Rights Commission.
Saifuddin, 23, is known as a coordinator in Chittagong. He himself filed the other case with Khulshi police station in Chittagong on June 17, saying he was injured in Chittagong on August 4 and 5, with no mention of the incident in Dhakaโs Paribagh.
Who is Saifuddin?
According to the case documents, Saifuddin is a higher secondary (Alim) student at the Government Alia Madrasa in Dhaka.
He hails from Kachiyapara village of Haramia Union under Swandip Upazila in Chittagong. His fatherโs name is Md Belal.
He is mentioned as a Category-A July Warrior (July Joddha), or a critically injured person, in the gazette published on February 27.
Saifuddin in his case said he first took treatment at Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH). Later, with the help of relatives, he had an eye operation at the private Chevron Hospital. Later, he was admitted to CMCH again.
On August 11, he was admitted to the National Institute of Ophthalmology in Dhaka. There, bullets were removed from his head and eye. Later, he was admitted to Dhaka CMH for advanced treatment. On September 1 of the same year, he was discharged from there and has been receiving treatment at home since then.
He says the vision in his right eye has not yet returned and condition of his left eye is deteriorating.
As per the interim government order, Category A warriors will get a one-time grant of Tk5 lakh and a monthly allowance of Tk20,000.
Punishment for filing false cases
So far, officials have identified more than 70 people who fraudulently used fake documents to be included in the list of martyrs and injured.
July Memorial Foundation officials say they have written to the government to remove the names of 19 people from the Health Ministryโs MIS list. If scrutinised properly, another 1,000-1,500 fake injuries could be detected.
As per the law, penalties for fraudulent claims are two years in prison and a fine of Tk2 lakh or twice the amount of the received benefits.
Legal experts say each law has separate provisions for punishment for false cases and false witnesses.
The incident of the same person getting injured in two distant cities of the country at the same time is unprecedented. The motive behind it should be investigated. Besides, there is also a strong discussion on how the police registered the case without any verification, despite the clear instructions from the government not to take harassment cases.
Under Section 182 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, if a person gives false information to a government servant, which may cause him (the government servant) to cause harm or annoyance to another person by using his lawful authority, then it is an offence.
The punishment for the offence under this section can be imprisonment for up to six months or fine or both. This section is mainly designed to prevent a government servant from making him do immoral things or harassing someone by giving false information.
Moreover, Section 212 of the Bangladesh Penal Code states that if someone knowingly shelters or conceals a person, they believe to be guilty of an offense, with the intention of shielding them from legal punishment, they are liable for punishment.
The punishment for such offense is two to seven years imprisonment.
High-profile case?
In the case filed by Raju in Dhaka, the 201 named accused are from diverse communities.
Apart from politicians, including Sheikh Hasina and all top leaders of the party, the accused included 15 journalists, 14 professors and 14 actors. An officer of the Shahbagh police is investigating the case but cannot file the report due to non-cooperation by Saifuddin, who has failed to submit his medical documents.
Other noted personalities are Supreme Courtโs retired judge Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik, and former district judge Helal Chowdhury, former Dhaka Wasa managing director Taqseem A Khan, business tycoon and PHP Group Chairman Sufi Mizanur Rahman, and Ganajagaran Moncho leaders Lucky Akhter and Imran H Sarker.
Of them, Justice Chowdhury has been in jail since his detention along the border with India, while Lucky Akhter is a prime target of online campaigns by the government supporters.
The accused media personalities are Mamunur Rashid, Chanchal Chowdhury, Riaz, Ferdous, Ashna Habib Bhabna, Saju Khadem, Zayed Khan, Rokeya Prachi, Meher Afroz Shawon, Aruna Biswas, Jyotika Jyoti, Shamima Tusti, Shomi Kaiser and Sohana Saba.
Of the above, Rokeya Prachi came under mob attack, Meher Afroz was detained by detectives for questioning and Shomi Kaiser has been in jail for months.
The journalists implicated in the case are DBC Television chairman Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, also former adviser to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Abed Khan, Alamgir Hossain, Santosh Sharma, Naem Nizam and his wife Farida Yeasmin, Shyamal Dutta, Mozammel Babu, Munni Saha, Mithila Farzana, Masuda Bhatti and Farzana Rupa.
Of them, Shyamal Dutta, Mozammel Babu, and Farzana Rupa are in jail, while Munni Saha is implicated in a corruption case and also faced mob violence.
The noted intellectuals accused in the case are former Vice-Chancellor of Dhaka University Prof Akhtaruzzaman, former VC of National University Prof Harun Or Rashid, former VC of Jahangirnagar University Prof Anwar Hossain, former VC of Jagannath University Prof Mizanur Rahman, former VC of Chittagong University Prof Abdul Mannan, former VC of Noakhali University Prof M Wahiduzzaman, former Chairman of the University Grants Commission and urban planner Prof Nazrul Islam, Dhaka University professor and historian Muntassir Mamoon, Prof Mesbah Kamal, Prof Abu Zafar Md Shafiul Alam, Prof Mihir Lal Saha and Prof Zafar Iqbal.
What are the charges?
The cultural activists have been implicated in the case for supporting the Awami League. The case says they spread hatred on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp to โglorifyโ the killing and torture of students and the public.
Plaintiffโs lawyer ABM Jobayer alleged that the accused political and cultural activists and teachers put up an intellectual narrative in favour of Sheikh Hasina. They have also been charged with incitement to murder, based on conversations on a WhatsApp group named Alo Ashbei, where someone suggested that the police spray hot water on the protesters to disperse them.
Raju told the media that the Awami League government had harassed the people through cases and torture in the past 17 years. โWe are waging an anti-fascist movement. Our struggle against the murderer Hasina will continue. The murderers are now trying to hold processions at night and in the early morning. Through their trials, we will free the country from murderers and fascists.”
What does the case say?
Plaintiff and eyewitness Raju said he stood for Saifuddin as a human rights activist since the victim was unable to file a case.
โHe gave me an affidavit authorising me to file a case. I filed the case as a plaintiff. The description I have written in my case statement is true,โ he told the media.
According to the case, around 11:30am on August 4 last year, Saifuddin came to Paribagh with a procession which started from the Central Shaheed Minar as part of the one-point non-cooperation movement.
At that time, members of the Chhatra League, Jubo League and other terrorists blocked the procession and opened fire to kill the students and the public. Then, Saifuddin was shot in the right eye by spray bullets.
When he fell on the road, unknown Chhatra League, Jubo League and police members beat him up, which was witnessed by the plaintiff.
Raju rescued Saifuddin and took him to various hospitals for treatment, but he could not be admitted. Later, the plaintiff sent him to Chittagong in an ambulance. On August 5, Saifuddin was admitted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital.
The case in Chittagong
Saifuddin brought charges of attempted murder against 167 people, including Sheikh Hasina and Obaidul Quader. The list of accused includes businessmen and four journalists.
In the case statement, Saifuddin alleged that he was injured while participating in the movement in Dhaka at various times from July 15 to July 28, 2024. Then he moved to Chittagong and participated in demonstrations from August 1.
On August 4, he participated in a gathering in the New Market area of โโthe city from 9am to 11am. Around 11 am, some armed members of the Chhatra League, Jubo League and Awami League opened fire on the protesters and Saifuddin was shot.
He alleged that he did not go to the hospital for treatment due to fear of Chhatra League members. He then sought treatment from doctors, nurses and interns who participated in the movement in a safe place. They removed some of the stray bullets from his chest and left leg. The rest of the bullets remained in his chest and leg.
The next day, on August 5, Saifuddin took part in a curfew-breaking procession from Baduratola in the city. When the procession reached the Wasa intersection area, armed members of the Chhatra League, Jubo League and Awami League opened fire on them with the intent to kill.
Saifuddin alleged that he was shot in the head, leg, face and eye. He fell unconscious on the road and was later discovered at the CMCH.
Serious inconsistencies
A review of the two cases shows huge discrepancies in the details of the incidents, locations and the statements.
Two different addresses have been used in the two cases. The address used in the Dhaka case is 3rd Floor, 26/2 Topkhan Road. But the address shown in the case filed in Chittagong is Sholakbahar Al Amin Housing Society under the Panchlaish police station.
The allegations in the two cases show that, according to the statement recorded in Shahbagh police station, Saifuddin was shot in the eye in Paribagh on August 4.
However, the case filed with Khulshi police station in Chittagong, 10 months after the incident, says he was shot in the New Market area at 11am on August 4 and at Wasa intersection on August 5, causing damage to his right eye.
Media hype
The daily Prothom Alo ran a story on Saifuddin and other injured on October 4, last year.
The report said the madrasa student was active from the beginning of the movement, demanding reform of the quota system in government jobs. He participated in the movement in Dhaka and Chittagong.
On July 16, Saifuddin argued with the police at the VCโs residence of Dhaka University. The video of that incident went viral. Due to intelligence surveillance, he had to leave Dhaka for Chittagong. Unable to survive there either, he went to his village home in Swandip. He also had to hide for three days. On August 5, the day the government fell, the 23-year-old young man lost his sight after being shot near the police lines in Chittagong city, the newspaper reported.
The reporter, Mansura Hossain, also spoke to Saifuddin on his mobile phone.
He said: “On July 19, a person was shot in the head in front of Baitul Mukarram and died there within a few seconds. Luckily, the bullet did not hit me. And after the government fell on August 5, I repeatedly asked the police to fire. But they did not listen. It didn’t seem like the police were doing it in self-defense, they were behaving like this to kill people.โ
The report added that since being shot on August 5, Saifuddin had been visiting various hospitals, including CMCH, National Institute of Ophthalmology, CMH Hospital, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, LabAid and Bangladesh Eye Hospital.
Saifuddin and several other injured also met the chief adviser to make various demands. He went to Jamuna in a wheelchair and wearing sunglasses!
On September 14, he spoke at a program organised by the โGuardians next to the Childโ platform at Segunbagicha in the capital.
He said: “This is unacceptable that many people cannot be found in 2024. I request everyone to join hands and look for the injured. Why do the injured have to sell their children, property, and jewellery for treatment?”
Saifuddin said he had to walk with the help of others. He demanded that the interim government take strong steps to treat those injured in the coup, saying: “When time runs out, there will be nothing left to do.”
Recounting his own experience, he said: “He had to go to various hospitals for the eyes, for the nerves and his legs. If the government had set up special units in each hospital to treat the injured and provided integrated treatment, the injured would have benefited.”
English