Investigation finds no evidence of gunshot injuries in July Uprising case against Hasina, others

A police investigation claimed that it found forged medical documents with no evidence of gunshot injuries in a case filed over an attempted murder against Sheikh Hasina and 75 others.

A young man named Nur Hossain filed the case on 1 December 2024 against 76 people, including ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, alleging that he was shot nine times and injured during the July Uprising.

Following the investigation, Mohammadpur Police Sub-Inspector Ukyamong Rakhine submitted the final report to the court on 29 Sept, recommending the discharge of Hasina and 83 other individuals, including the eight others arrested later.

Ukyamong Rakhine claimed the complainant, Nur Hossain, had filed the case using a forged medical certificate.

He confirmed that a final report recommending the accused be discharged had been submitted to the court.

“Eight people were shown arrested in connection with the case. However, they were already in prison after being arrested in other cases. The court had subsequently approved an application to show them as arrested in this case as well,” he added.  

The investigation officer said their discharge had also been recommended.

The case was scheduled for a hearing last Wednesday (28 October), when the investigation report was placed before the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ashraful Haque’s court.

SI Mizanur Rahman of the prosecution division said, “The court perused the final report and ordered the issuance of a notice to the complainant.”

“The next hearing has been scheduled for 1 Dec,” he added.

According to the investigation report, Nur Hossain had submitted documents claiming that he received emergency treatment at Bangladesh Medical College Hospital along with his First Information Report (FIR).

However, investigators found that he had not received treatment from any doctor at the hospital.

The report further stated that the medical documents submitted in the case did not originate from the hospital. The investigation officer cited two discrepancies to support this finding.

Furthermore, Nur Hossain’s name does not appear on the official government list of people injured during the July 2024 uprising.

Based on these findings, the investigation officer claimed that Nur Hossain had not actually been injured and had fabricated the account of his injuries to file the case.  

In the final report, Ukyamong Rakhine said the allegations had been found to be prima facie false after considering the investigation findings, available witness statements and the surrounding circumstances.

In his FIR, Nur Hossain had claimed that he took part in the protest between 3pm and 3.30pm on 4 August 2024 in the Mayur Villa area, near Mohammadpur bus stand.

He alleged that police charged protesters with batons and opened fire during the demonstration. According to his account, he was shot six times in the back, twice above his left knee and once beside his right knee.