The International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1) has identified “gross anomalies” and serious investigative lapses in the probe and prosecution of the Chankharpul killings during the July uprising.
In its full verdict, signed on February 1 and obtained by The Daily Star on Sunday (March 1, 2026), the three-member tribunal observed that at least 40 to 50 police personnel were deployed in Chankharpul on August 5, 2024, many of whom were equipped with lethal firearms and substantial quantities of ammunition.
However, official records show that only four or five officers returned their weapons and bullets, leaving no account of the remaining arms.
The tribunal questioned why the case mainly targeted three constables -- Md Sujon, Imaj Hossain Emon, and Nasirul Islam -- when evidence suggested that widespread gunfire and lethal force were used by many others.
“Should we believe the verbal testimony of three police constables -- Ajoy Gosh, Abdur Rahman and Asif Khan -- instead of the documentary evidence on record?” the tribunal asked, citing contradictions between witness testimonies and official arms registers.
It noted that constable Ajoy, who claimed he refused to fire despite orders, returned only 18 rounds out of 40 bullets, casting serious doubt on his assertion of non-participation. The court further questioned why he allegedly complied with the orders to surrender his weapon and ammunition if he had indeed defied instructions to shoot.
The tribunal also criticised investigators for failing to implicate or examine SI Md Ashraful Islam, who admitted before a magistrate that he had actively participated in the Chankharpul operation and provided a detailed account of events. Despite his self-incriminating statement, Ashraful was neither made an accused nor produced as a prosecution witness.
The verdict revealed that at least 25 officers were issued Chinese rifles, shotguns and submachine guns (SMGs), along with a large supply of ammunition, yet most of these weapons were never accounted for.
The tribunal described the investigation as “seriously flawed” and questioned the absence of video evidence showing the actions of other armed personnel, beyond the three accused constables.
ICT-1 further expressed concerns over the mysterious absence of the Ramna Zone deputy commissioner from the case records, despite Chankharpul falling under his jurisdiction.
“It is not understood why all those forces deployed with lethal weapons and ammunition have not been implicated in the case. It is improper to decide without trial who used or did not use arms during the occurrence,” the tribunal observed.
The court also observed that former DMP commissioner Habibur Rahman, joint commissioner Sudeep Kumar Chakrabarty, ADC Shah Alam Mohammad Akhtarul Islam and assistant commissioner Mohammad Imrul fled the country following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government, stating that their absconding “lends support to the presumption of their guilt”.
However, it criticised law enforcement agencies for allowing ADC Akhtarul Islam to remain at large for a considerable period after the regime change, effectively enabling his escape.
On January 26, the tribunal sentenced three former senior police officials, including ex-DMP commissioner Habibur Rahman, to death for killing six people in Dhaka’s Chankharpul area during the July uprising. Five other former policemen were handed various jail terms in the same case.
