In a significant step toward accountability for the deadly 2024 quota reform protests that toppled Sheikh Hasina’s government, Bangladesh Police announced on Tuesday that charge sheets have been submitted in 106 cases filed during the anti-discrimination student-public movement. Of these, 31 are murder cases, while the remaining 75 involve other charges such as vandalism, arson, and assault.
The disclosure came from Police Headquarters in an evening briefing to media outlets, confirming progress in probes spanning multiple districts and metropolitan forces. The murder cases originate from Pabna, Sirajganj, Bogura, Dhaka, Narayanganj, Cumilla, Chandpur, Feni, Kurigram, and Sherpur districts, as well as the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), Rajshahi Metropolitan Police, Chittagong Metropolitan Police, and Dhaka Metropolitan Police units.
The non-murder cases hail from a broader swath, including Pabna, Sirajganj, Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj, Naogaon, Bogura, Dhaka, Narayanganj, Narsingdi, Tangail, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Sherpur, Jamalpur, Mymensingh, Barguna districts and agencies like PBI, Criminal Investigation Department (CID), and various metropolitan police forces in Dhaka, Barisal, Rajshahi, Chittagong, and Rangpur.
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Senior police officials emphasised that high-ranking officers are overseeing investigations to ensure thoroughness. “Bangladesh Police remains committed to wrapping up probes in outstanding cases and bringing perpetrators to justice,” a spokesperson stated, underscoring efforts to address the widespread unrest from July 15 to August 15, 2024, which the United Nations estimates claimed up to 1,400 lives.
Yet, the process has sparked controversy over discharges and potential abuses. Under Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, interim investigation reports seeking discharge have been filed in 437 cases for 2,830 individuals.
This mass push for exonerations stems from intense public backlash against “case trading” and a “bail business” that allegedly extorted money from thousands wrongly implicated in July murder probes, often through harassment and fabricated accusations. The Jamaat-led interim government is also criticised for holding trials of the same murder cases in criminal courts and the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD).
Complicating matters further is the government’s official gazette listing 834 “martyrs” from the uprisingโthose killed by state forces or ruling party affiliates between July 1 and August 5, 2024. However, media investigations and fact-checkers have flagged at least 50 deaths as unrelated to the protests, including suicides, accidents, and pre-existing illnesses misrepresented for benefits like financial aid and rehabilitation under the July Uprising Martyr Families and July Warriors Welfare and Rehabilitation Ordinance, 2025.
The ordinance, enacted earlier this year, offers stipends, jobs, and medical support, turning the martyr list into a magnet for fraud. Reports indicate around 1,500 “fake injured” names were also included, with fabricated claims flooding in amid a rush for rewards.
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The Ministry of Liberation War Affairs has vowed legal action against fraudsters, announcing in September that bogus entries will be scrubbed from the list and culprits prosecuted. Critics, including Awami League remnants, argue this scandal has fueled thousands of retaliatory “fake murder cases” against their supporters, exacerbating political vendettas in the lead-up to the 2026 elections.
The deaths themselves paint a grim, multifaceted picture of violence. While the UN and human rights groups like Amnesty International attribute the vast majorityโover 1,400โto excessive force by police, army, and Awami League affiliates, including point-blank shootings of unarmed students and children (comprising 12-13% of fatalities), others stemmed from chaotic clashes. At least 44 police officers were killed.
The Awami League has challenged the UN figure of martyrs and sought the list.
Post-August 5, when Sheikh Hasina was flown to India, the violence morphed into revenge attacks, with at least 25 police officers slain on resignation day alone. Human Rights Watch and local monitors link much of the ensuing chaosโtargeting Awami League offices, minorities, and Hindu communitiesโto elements within the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Jamaat-e-Islami, and the student-led National Citizen Party (NCP), amid shifting alliances and Islamist resurgence.
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Reports document hundreds of assaults, lynchings, and arsons, including internal BNP clashes that injured over 1,400 and killed dozens by mid-2025. The International Crisis Group notes a decline in overall political violence since the uprising’s peak but warns of flare-ups tied to electioneering by these groups.
The Awami League has documented 528 deaths from July 2024 to October 10, 2025, and 35 deaths in prisons.
No decisions have been announced on withdrawing questionable cases or releasing detained suspects, many of whom decry prolonged harassment. Adding to the asymmetry, an August directiveโdubbed the “amnesty order”โshields uprising participants from prosecution for murders, rapes, lootings, and arsons committed between July 15 and August 8, effectively granting blanket immunity to protesters while pursuing others.
As Bangladesh heads towards polls, rights advocates urge balanced justice. “True reckoning demands prosecuting all killersโstate agents and vigilantes alikeโwithout favoritism,” Amnesty’s South Asia director said. With over 11,700 arrests from the period and ongoing disinformation scandals, the July legacy remains a tinderbox for national healing.
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