A Dhaka court has acquitted 124 individuals, including ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former General Secretary of the banned Awami League Obaidul Quader, in the high-profile "Child Jihad Murder" case.
Keraniganj Model Police Station General Recording Officer (GRO) Abdul Noor confirmed the matter on Friday, March 20.
Other prominent figures cleared include former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, Sheikh Hasina’s cousin Sheikh Helal, former Dhaka Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, and former IGP Abdullah Al Mamun.
Police investigations revealed that the alleged victim, Jihad, was alive, contradicting the original murder claim. The case had cited an incident of injury at another location as a murder in Keraniganj, which was found to contain multiple factual errors. A final investigation report recommending acquittal of all accused was submitted on August 11 last year.
Senior Judicial Magistrate Tamanna accepted the report on October 30, 2025, officially clearing all 126 accused.
The court noted that analysis of the FIR, the charges, and the victim’s testimony confirmed that the alleged victim had only sustained injuries. Investigations further revealed that the incident actually occurred in Hazaribagh, Dhaka, while the FIR incorrectly cited the Bachila Bridge area of Keraniganj. This discrepancy weakened the case considerably.
Investigation officer SI Bodiyar Rahman said the case contained two critical errors: falsely reporting a living person as deceased and citing the wrong location.
He added that the plaintiff had filed the case under the influence of certain individuals, seeking housing and financial benefits, without knowing that the alleged victim was alive.
Dhaka Metropolitan Public Prosecutor Omar Faruk Farooqui said a vested-interest group had deliberately filed the case during the July movement. “Investigations have now revealed the actual sequence of events,” he said.
Authorities also confirmed that a new case has been filed focusing on the actual injuries sustained by Jihad in Hazaribagh, which is currently under investigation.
Efforts to contact the plaintiff, Zahirul Islam, were unsuccessful as his phone remained switched off.
MDAA/MHK