A man filed a July Uprising case over the murder of his brother. Police have now found the victim alive

A police investigation into a murder case filed over an incident during the July Uprising has found the alleged victim alive. Law enforcers believe it was part of a conspiracy by the plaintiff – the alleged victim’s brother – that attempted to use the mass uprising as cover.

Now, police are looking to prosecute the brother who filed the case.

Forty-two suspects, including ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, are to be cleared in the case.

The alleged victim has been identified as Solaiman Selim aka Dulal aka Selim. The case filed over his murder claimed he had been killed on Aug 3 amid the Students Against Discrimination protests. But law enforcers have discovered that he is still alive.

The investigating officer in the case Sub-Inspector Enamul Islam of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch (DB), Wari Division, has sought the court's permission to file charges against Selim’s brother Mostafa Kamal alias Mostu Dakat, under Section 211 for filing a false case.

Mallik Ahsan Uddin, deputy police commissioner of the DB Wari Zone, said the plaintiff intentionally filed a false case.

"If the court grants permission, we will proceed. Alternatively, the court may choose to file the case itself. We will act according to the court's instructions."

In the case application to a Dhaka court, the alleged victim was identified as Dulal alias Selim. His profession was listed as a Thikana Paribahan bus helper. It was alleged that he was killed by a gunshot in Jatrabari.

The court later accepted the plaintiff's statement and directed the Jatrabari Police Station to register the complaint as a first information report (FIR).

Initially, 41 people were named as suspects in the case dossier. Later, at the start of the investigation, police arrested one more person as a suspect, bringing the total number of the accused to 42. Police showed two of the suspects as arrested.

During the course of their investigation, police detectives learnt that Selim had not been killed. His brother Mostafa, who is locally known as a bandit and is a fugitive wanted on charges of murder and robbery, is believed to have filed the case in an attempt to get an advantage over his brother in a family dispute over land.

Alleging that his three brothers plotted to “occupy his land”, Selim told bdnews24.com: "I do not have any sons. They want to kill me and occupy the land. That's why they filed a case claiming I was killed and so it becomes easier to kill me in the future.

"They can kill me and implicate someone else. I am living in fear. I don't know what they will do next."

Selim, a father of two daughters, lives with his wife in Beltali Bazar in Mymensingh’s Fulbaria. He claims he cannot stay at home due to fear of his brothers. He said, "They threaten to kill not just me, but also our daughters. This way, they can occupy my land."

The case investigation was transferred from the police station to the DB. Recently, the investigation officer submitted the final report to the court on Nov 30, recommending the acquittal of 42 people, including Hasina.

Prosecution Division SI Mohin Uddin said the next hearing date for the case is Dec 21. The final report will be presented to the court that day.

Other suspects recommended for acquittal besides Hasina include Awami League General Secretary and former road minister Obaidul Quader, former ministers Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, Ramesh Chandra Sen, and Asaduzzaman Noor, among others. All of them are fugitives.

The two arrested suspects, Mohammad Ullah Patwari and Miraj Khan, have also been recommended for acquittal.

WHAT’S IN THE FINAL REPORT?

During the investigation, SI Enamul found that Mostafa and the allegedly deceased Selim are brothers from a family of six siblings - four brothers and two sisters.

Selim, 50, is the youngest among the brothers. Their elder brother is Helal Uddin, 62, the next oldest is Md Abul Hossain Alam, 58, and the third oldest is Mostafa, 55.

The final report states that Mostafa has multiple cases against him, including a murder case, at Fulbaria Police Station. He has been a fugitive for 10 years due to a search warrant against him. Selim has no contact with him. Selim has an ongoing land dispute and a long-time feud with his brothers.

Referring to the case, the final report states: "It appears that Mostafa Kamal filed the false case in court against the named suspects in the FIR, with the hope of unjustly gaining financial benefit and to enable him to kill his own younger brother Solaiman Selim later, dispose of the body, and seize his property."

Following the inquiry, the investigating officer, after verifying the testimony, evidence, and circumstantial facts of the incident, found that the person claimed to be dead is alive.

The investigating officer highlighted in the final report that the opportunity of the Students Against Discrimination movement was used in an attempt to come out ahead in the land dispute.

For this reason, the withdrawal of charges against the suspects has been recommended.

Rashedul Islam Rashed, the lawyer for Miraj Khan, one of the two arrested suspects, said: "My client is not involved in politics. Yet, he was named as an accused in the case. He was initially arrested in a case at Lalbagh Police Station. After that, he was shown arrested in several cases, including the one at Jatrabari Police Station.

"A murder did not even take place, and yet he became a suspect. He has been subjected to harassment. He should file a case seeking compensation from the state because he was unnecessarily named as a suspect."

The mobile phone number provided for Mostafa was found to be switched off and he could not be reached for comment.