Sirajganj police have submitted three charge sheets against 549 Awami League (AL) members, including former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and former minister Obaidul Quader, in three separate cases over the killing of three BNP men on August 4 during mass uprising last year.

The accused also include former lawmakers Jannat Ara Henry and Habibe Millat Munna, former cabinet secretary Kabir Bin Anwar, former Sirajganj District Council chairman Shamim Talukder Labu, district AL president Hosen Ali Hasan, and former general secretary Abdus Samad Talukder, among others from the party's district and front organisations.

Md Rawshan Yeazdani, inspector of the Sirajganj court, said the charge sheets had been submitted last Thursday but were yet to be formally received.

"According to legal procedure, the charge sheets are considered officially received only after the magistrate has seen them. Although they were submitted last Thursday, the magistrate was yet to see them as of today," he said.

On August 4 last year, a day before the fall of Hasina's government, AL members allegedly opened fire on a rally brought out by protesters in Sirajganj town.

Three activists — Sohanur Rahman Khan Ronju, joint secretary of Sirajganj Jubo Dal; Abdul Latif, a BNP activist; and Sumon Sheikh, a Chhatra Dal member — were shot dead on the spot.

Subsequently, three separate cases were filed by the victims' families. Mousumi Khatun, wife of Ronju, accused 150 AL members; Gonjer Ali, father of Sumon, accused 154 named individuals; and Saleha Khatun, sister of Latif, accused 159 AL men. Each case also listed 100–150 unidentified persons.

After investigation, police have charged 195 people in the case over Ronju's death, 176 in the case over Sumon's death, and 178 in the case over Latif's killing, said Mokhlesur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Sirajganj Sadar Police Station.

"Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and AL General Secretary Obaidul Quader have made been accused in all three charge sheets for allegedly passing the order to kill," he told The Daily Star yesterday.