Former Bangladesh speaker, commerce minister arrested in murder case

Former Bangladesh speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury and ex-commerce minister Tipu Munshi have been arrested over the killing of a goldsmith during the recent quota reform protests that led to the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina-led government, media reports said on Thursday.

Munshi, 74, was arrested by the Rapid Action Battalion in Gulshan, Dhaka, on Wednesday night in the murder case filed in Rangpur, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.

The case was filed against 17 people, including Munshi and former speaker of Parliament Chaudhury, for the killing of Muslim Uddin Milon, a 38-year-old goldsmith.

Besides, many unnamed people were accused in the case.

Chaudhury, 46, served as the first female speaker of the Bangladesh Jatiya Sangsad from April 2013 until August 2024.

Milon was shot dead on July 19 in Rangpur during the student-led movement against a controversial quota system in government jobs, which later turned into a mass uprising that ousted 76-year-old Hasina's Awami League government on August 5, according to The Daily Star newspaper.

According to the case statement, when a clash broke out between students and Awami League activists during a protest in the City Bazaar area, police opened fire indiscriminately under the orders of the accused persons.

Milon was hit by a bullet at that time and taken to Rangpur Medical College and Hospital, where he was declared dead, the report said.

Over 230 people were killed in the incidents of violence that erupted across the country following the fall of the Hasina-led government, taking the death toll to more than 600 since the massive protest by students first started in mid-July.

Many senior Awami League leaders, lawmakers and former ministers went into hiding following the fall of Hasina-led government.

Munshi had also been hiding since August 5, according to the leading Bengali-language newspaper Prothom Alo.

He became the commerce minister during the third consecutive term of Awami League government led by Hasina, according to the report.

Hasina, who fled to India on August 5, is facing at least 75 cases, including murder charges, against her.