A section of policemen played a notorious role during the July-August mass uprising that toppled the Sheikh Hasina government exactly one year ago, committing brutal atrocities against the courageous warriors of the movement.

Following the ouster of the Awami League government, victims and their families began filing cases against the police officers involved.

According to Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), a total of 761 cases have been filed nationwide against police officers over the past 11 months, implicating a total of 1,168, of whom 61 have been arrested.

The Bangladesh chapter of the Berlin-based global anti-corruption watchdog unveiled the findings in a study report presented at their capital office on Monday.

According to sources at Police Headquarters, 57 police officers have gone into hiding, 55 have been sent on forced retirement, and 82 have been made OSD (Officer on Special Duty). The remaining accused officers continue to serve in active duty despite the charges against them.

Sources said that among the 57 fugitive officers, many have fled to countries including India, Canada, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and others, where some are reportedly plotting to destabilise the interim government.

However, the TIB report revealed that, in addition to the cases against police officers, 1,602 more cases, including 638 for murder, have been filed against former ministers, MPs, political leaders, activists, and others linked to the ousted government.

Among those, 87 individuals, including ministers, MPs, and key figures of the toppled government, have been arrested.

TIB reported that significant progress has been made in 70% of the cases, with investigations into 60 to 70 murder cases nearing completion.

According to TIB, 429 allegations were submitted to the International Crimes Tribunals (ICTs), leading to 27 formal cases. A total of 206 individuals, including Sheikh Hasina, were named as accused, of whom 73 have been arrested.

Among the fugitive police officers, former Special Branch (SB) chief Monirul Islam, former Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) commissioner Habibur Rahman, former DMP joint commissioner Biplob Kumar Sarkar and joint commissioner Proloy Kumar Joardar are reportedly residing in India and actively involved in efforts to overthrow the interim government led by Prof Muhammad Yunus.

Meanwhile, former DMP Detective Branch (DB) chief Harun or Rashid is reported to have fled to Canada.