Police have pressed formal charges against 15 people over the fatal mob lynching of Taslima Begum Renu in Dhaka's Badda in 2019. It paves the way for the initiation of trial proceedings, a year after the 42-year-old Renu was beaten to death outside a school on suspicion that she was a child abductor, bdnews24.com reports.
The Detective Branch of Police submitted the chargesheet to the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrates Court on Thursday, DMP Deputy Commissioner (Media) Walid Hossain told the news agency.
Among the 15 suspects, two are minors while another, 18-year-old Md Mohiuddin, is absconding.
Meanwhile, Hridoy Hossain Mollah alias Ibrahim, 20, has been identified as the key suspect in the case.
Police have found evidence tying 19 people to the lynching of Renu, according to Inspector Abdul Haque, investigation officer of the case.
Hridoy, who was identified as the key suspect over the lynching of a mother in Dhaka’s Badda, was taken to the DB police office after his arrest on Wednesday. However, four other suspects were left out of the chargesheet as police could not get their full names and addresses. A supplementary chargesheet will be filed with the court once their details are found.
A string of mob lynchings rocked the country last year as rumours of “child abductors being on the prowl to collect heads and blood of children for construction of Padma Bridge” made the rounds on social media, especially Facebook.
Renu, a mother of two, fell victim to an angry mob on July 20, 2019. She was visiting the North Badda Government Primary School to inquire about the admission of her children. But some guardians grew suspicious about her intentions when she said she was a resident of Ali Mor in the area, but later admitted she was living at Mohakhali Wireless Gate.
Renu had actually been a resident of Badda before her separation from her husband Taslim Hossain two years ago.
Police were subsequently called into action, with the incident having caused a stir in the country. They had also arrested several people involved in the lynching.
Renu's nephew Nasir Uddin Titu started a case against 500 unnamed suspects in the wake of the incident. Later, he submitted a supplementary statement to the court, seeking to implicate Shahnaz Begum, the headmistress of Badda Government Primary School, along with a few other teachers, officials and employees of the institution.
The court later ordered an inquiry into the matter.
Badda Police Inspector (Investigation) Mohammed Abdur Razzak subsequently conducted a five-month long investigation, arresting the majority of the suspects in the case. Meanwhile, three people gave confessional statements to court. Detective police later took over the investigation into the incident.
The investigation revealed that five of the accused, Riya Begum, Bachchu Mia, Md Shaheen, Md Murad Mia, Md Bappi, are out on bail.
Renu's family has been left disappointed by the fact that the trial in the case has not started yet.
“My sister's son and daughter talk about their mother repeatedly. They also want justice for their mother,” her elder sister Nazmun Nahar Nazma recently told the news agency.
Renu had worked in Aarong and Brac after completing her studies. She had also taught in schools.
