Rangpur: A Rangpur court has ordered that five individuals, including four Awami League (AL) leaders and activists, be shown as arrested in connection with the murder of Manik Mia, an auto-rickshaw driver who was killed during the July 2024 uprising. The order was issued by Judge R Q M Julkarnain of the Rangpur Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (Cognizance) Court. The decision came after a petition was submitted by Md Shah Alam Sarder, the officer-in-charge of Tajhat Police Station and the investigating officer in the case.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the five accused are Tushar Kanti Mondal, the former general secretary of Rangpur Metropolitan AL, Abdul Quader Zilani, the organizing secretary of AL's Tajhat Thana unit, Shamim Hasan, a former banned Chhatra League leader now serving as a Jubo League leader, Harun Or Rashid, a former Rangpur city councilor, and Rafiul Hasan Russell, an official from the Proctor Office of Begum Rokeya University. All five individuals are currently held in Rangpur Central Jail on charges related to other cases.
Manik Mia's death occurred on July 18, 2024, when he was shot by police at the Modern Mour intersection in Rangpur city during the Anti-discrimination Student Movement. Following his death, Noorjahan Begum, Mia's mother, filed a murder case accusing 119 individuals. The accused list includes several high-profile names, such as former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, two former ministers, three former MPs, seven police officers, three city councilors, and senior leaders of the Rangpur Metropolitan AL and its affiliated organizations.