New Delhi: In a shocking turn of events, cricketer Shakib Al Hasan, the veteran all-rounder from Bangladesh, has been named in a murder case FIR, along with 155 others, in relation to the nationwide student protests in the country earlier this month.
Specifically, the case pertains to the death of cricketer Rubel Islam, who died during protests in Dhaka. His father, Rafiqul Islam, filed the first information report (FIR) on August 22. It names 154 local Awami League leaders and activists, including Shakib and then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India, as suspects in his son’s death on August 7. The report was published in Cricbuzz.
Shakib, meanwhile, is currently playing the first Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi.
Also read – PM Modi pays tribute to Mahatma Gandhi in Kyiv Ukraine
The report elaborates that another 400-500 unnamed people were also accused. According to the case statement, Rubel joined the peaceful protests of the Student Movement against Discrimination demanding quota reforms in government jobs on August 5 in the Adabor Area.
“Following orders from Hasina and the other accused, unidentified people attacked the protesting students by firing against them. During this incident, two bullets hit Rubel on his chest, thereby causing grave injuries to which he eventually succumbed. As per the chargesheet, he is said to be accused no.28 in the FIR lodged by Rafiqul,” said the report.
It’s important to note that Shakib was not in Bangladesh at the time of the incident. He was representing Bangla Tigers Mississauga at Canada’s Global T20 Canada league in Brampton. Before that, he was playing for Los Angeles Knight Riders in the second season of the Major League Cricket (MLC).
Shakib was elected as a Member of Parliament from his hometown, Magura-2 constituency, during the last general elections as an Awami League member. But the left-arm spin all-rounder hasn’t returned to Bangladesh since the Awami League government was dissolved.
After Hasina’s ouster, Bangladesh is under an interim government, led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus. This political shift has also led to Faruque Ahmed being appointed as the new head of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).
For more updates Subscribe to Media Eye News
–IANS
