During the July Movement, one Md. Abdul Aziz filed an attempted murder case in a Dhaka court, claiming he had been seriously injured in an attack at Mirpur ECB Square. He named 250–270 people as accused. However, when the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) began investigating, they could not find the complainant or any of the witnesses. Many of the people accused in the case had never even been to Dhaka.
Not only Abdul Aziz—many complainants and witnesses in other court-filed CR (Complaint Register) cases have also turned out to be fake. Investigators have been unable to trace their existence. As a result, PBI has been submitting final reports stating “allegations not proven.”
So far, 56 percent of the cases handled by PBI have ended this way. Some complainants have even withdrawn their own cases. Among the remaining 44 percent of cases where charge sheets were submitted, most accused are also fake.
According to investigation sources, the situation is much the same across many July Movement–related cases.
PBI chief (Additional IGP) Md. Mostafa Kamal said hundreds of people were made accused in these cases. The incidents occurred in Dhaka, yet the accused include people from Chattogram, Narayanganj, Barishal, Cumilla and other districts—many of whom had never even visited Dhaka.
He said, “Political affiliation is not relevant to the investigation. If a person is not involved in the incident, they should not be made accused. We are trying our best to ensure that innocent people do not face harassment. Some cases have been withdrawn. Some are clearly false. We will report exactly what the investigation finds.”
Legal experts note that the law provides protection for innocent people falsely implicated in criminal cases. The Public Prosecutor of Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court, Omar Faruk Faruqui, said legal action can be taken against those who file false cases.
PBI sources said the agency was tasked with investigating 192 CR cases related to murder and attempted murder during the Anti-Discrimination Movement. These include 29 murder cases and 163 cases under other sections.
After extensive investigation, 78 of these cases have been disposed of—9 murder cases and 69 others. Among these, allegations were proven in 34 cases, while 44 cases were unproven or withdrawn. A significant portion of the accused in the proven cases were also fake—some cases had up to 90 percent fake accused.
Among the disposed cases, 27 could not be proven. Another 17 were dismissed, recalled, or withdrawn by complainants under Section 248. Legal analysts say the actual number of fake cases is higher than PBI’s reported 56 percent.
Senior Supreme Court lawyer Manzil Morshed said PBI’s findings confirm what many had been saying for a long time—that 56 percent of the cases lacked evidence. He believes the real number of false cases is even higher, estimating 60–70 percent. He added that many of these cases were filed for extortion.
Ignoring prior directives, elements within the law enforcement agencies allegedly carried out indiscriminate killings of students and civilians, influenced by foreign conspiracies. After the so-called Yunus government came to power by force on 5 August last year, the filing of these cases began.
Many individuals were targeted due to personal disputes, while prominent businesspersons were added to accused lists for extortion purposes. Following criticism, Dhaka Metropolitan Police issued instructions requiring higher-level approval to arrest suspects in July Movement cases. The government also initiated efforts to remove fake names from case documents.
According to Police Headquarters, a total of 1,785 cases were filed nationwide in connection with the July Movement. Charge sheets have been submitted in 106 cases. Additionally, interim investigation reports under Section 173 (a) of the Criminal Procedure Code have recommended absolving 2,830 individuals from 437 cases.
PBI sources say most of the unproven cases involve complainants and witnesses with no verifiable identities.
In CR case 890/2024 (Mirpur), complainant Abdul Aziz claimed he was injured on 4 August 2024 during an attack by Awami League and Jubo League activists at Mirpur ECB Square. He named 22 individuals and 200–250 unknown persons as accused. PBI SI Humayun Kabir later submitted a final report declaring the allegations unproven.
Investigators found that Aziz’s permanent and present addresses were fake, his National ID was forged, and the phone number listed belonged to a woman who did not know anyone named Abdul Aziz. Witnesses listed in the case also turned out to be fake.
The 11th accused in this case, Abdul Latif from Sirajganj’s Shahjadpur upazila, said: “I am a farmer. I have not been to Dhaka in the past 10 years. But a local influential leader, due to personal enmity, added my name to the case. My name has appeared in two such cases. They even tried to have me arrested.”
Another complainant, Md. Rajin alias Rajon, claimed he was shot during the Anti-Discrimination Movement and filed an attempted murder case on 2 January. He alleged he was shot on 18 July near Banani Chairmanbari on the Dhaka–Mymensingh Highway and treated at the National Institute of Ophthalmology. He named 127 people and 25 unknown accused.
PBI Inspector Md. Azizul Haque submitted a report stating all information provided by the complainant was fake. Even the listed phone number belonged to someone else. The witnesses were nonexistent as well.
Another case (No. 960/2024 — Tejgaon) involved 208 named and 900 unnamed accused. The investigating SI said the case was filed by “an enthusiastic bystander.” Since the victim’s father had already filed a separate case at another police station, the court dismissed the CR case.
Analysis of cases where allegations were proven showed that even then, most accused individuals had no involvement in the incidents. Many were recommended for discharge.
Examples of fake accused percentages include:
- CR 4448/2024 (Gulshan): 77.42% fake
- CR 03/2025 (Turag): 90.40% fake
- CR 541/2024 (Badda): 55.70% fake
- CR 770/2024 (Jatrabari): 48% fake
- CR 902/2024 (Jatrabari): 84% fake
- CR 767/2024 (Jatrabari): 67% fake
- CR 995/2024 (Badda): 85.23% fake
- CR 1708/2024 (Boalia): 81.81% fake
- CR 384/2024 (Rajpara): 66.33% fake
- CR 247/2024 (Jalalabad): 82.05% fake
On 5 August last year, a youth named Sajib (19) was shot in the chest near Jatrabari Police Station. His father filed an attempted murder case (No. 902/2024) accusing 253 individuals.
PBI SI Md. Jamil Uddin Rashed investigated the case and submitted a charge sheet against only 20 people—dropping 233 names. That means 84 percent of the accused were fake. Only one accused was from Jatrabari and 15–16 were from Dhaka. The rest lived in other districts. CDR analysis showed none of them were in Dhaka at the time.
