Rampura shootings: SI testifies on police orders, cash incentive by ex-DMP commissioner
The video identified SI Tarikul Islam Bhuiya and Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Chanchal Chandra Sarker as firing at the hanging individual
During the anti-discrimination student movement in July 2024, former Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Habibur Rahman allegedly ordered police to open fire on protesters using Chinese rifles and later visited Rampura Police Station to hand out a cash reward of Tk1 lakh for "outstanding performance" in suppressing the movement, according to testimony recorded at the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT).
The statement was given by Sub Inspector (SI) Md Golam Kibria Khan, currently posted at Badda Police Station and formerly at Rampura Police during the protests. He appeared as the fifth witness in the case against Habibur Rahman and four others, charged with crimes against humanity over the killings of two protesters and injuries to a child in Rampura.
SI Kibria's testimony was recorded today (4 November) before a three-member tribunal led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Majumder. He detailed the events of 18 July 2024, saying that while on duty at Rampura Police Station, he learned via radio communication that the DMP Commissioner had instructed the use of Chinese rifles (CRs) to suppress the protesters.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
He recounted that after Friday prayers, he and fellow officers were ordered to remain at the station while protesters began gathering near the area. Under the direction of the officer-in-charge and other senior officials, police opened fire, resulting in the deaths of Nadim near Banshree Jame Mosque and Maya Islam on a nearby street. A child named Musa Khan was also injured.
SI Kibria further testified that on 21 or 22 July, the former commissioner visited Rampura Police Station to personally deliver a Tk1 lakh cash reward for officers' roles in suppressing the student movement. He also described the circulation of a viral video showing a person hanging from a building cornice being targeted by gunfire, which led to a meeting at the station on 29 July, led by Assistant Deputy Commissioner Rashedul Islam, to review the incident.
The video identified SI Tarikul Islam Bhuiya and Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Chanchal Chandra Sarker as firing at the hanging individual.
During the session, SI Kibria was cross-examined by lawyers representing four absconding defendants, including state-appointed lawyer Amir Hossain and ASI Chanchal Chandra Sarker's attorney Sarwar Jahan. So far, six witnesses have testified in the case.
Prosecution was represented by Gazi MH Tamim, with prosecutors Faruk Ahmad, Syemum Reza Talukdar, and Abdus Sattar Palwan also present. The tribunal has scheduled the next witness testimony for 10 November.
