Dipu Moni, Mozammel Babu, Farzana Rupa shown arrested

Former minister Dipu Moni and journalists Mozammel Babu and Farzana Rupa have been sent to jail after being shown arrested in a case over the alleged Shapla Chattar massacre during the Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh rally on May 5, 2013. They have been accused of involvement in the planning and conspiracy behind the incident.

The order was issued on Thursday by International Crimes Tribunal-1, chaired by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder.

Earlier, on Thursday last week, the tribunal ordered that the accused be produced before the court following a prosecution petition. They were brought before the tribunal from prison on Thursday morning.

According to the prosecution, the Shapla Chattar killings were a premeditated incident. Prosecutors also alleged that journalists Mozammel Babu and Farzana Rupa helped conceal the number of deaths at the time.

Six people, including former Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidul Hoque, Ziaul Ahsan and writer Shahriar Kabir, are currently in jail after being arrested in the case. The investigation remains ongoing, and the tribunal has set June 7 as the deadline for submitting the investigation report.

The prosecution said that a total of 58 people were killed in four locations, including Dhaka, during the 2013 Hefazat rally. Investigators have identified the victims, including 32 in Dhaka, 20 in Narayanganj, five in Chattogram and one in Cumilla.