Bangladesh star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is among the 147 people charged with the murder of a garment worker during the protests in the country (in early August), per the latest report. Rafiqul Islam, the father of the deceased Mohammed Rubel, filed the complaint against Shakib and others at Dhaka’s Adabor Police Station, an officer at the station confirmed.
Besides being the country’s greatest cricketer, Shakib is also a former member of parliament of the Awami League, the party that was in power until earlier this month. Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh’s ousted prime minister at the time of the protests, alongside several former ministers and lawmakers from the party, are among the accused.
Per a report in ESPNcricinfo, Shakib is either 27th or 28th in the first information report (FIR), the police officer revealed.
However, the veteran all-rounder was not in the country at the time of the protests (on August 5) or anytime during that, which later led to Sheikh Hasina’s resignation, following which she fled the country. The left-handed cricketer was in Canada during that time, playing for Bangla Tigers Mississauga at the Global T20 Canada league, with that game being played in Brampton.
Before that, Shakib was in the USA, taking part inMajor League Cricket until mid-July.
He was in Canada from July 26 to August 9.
Per the Daily Star, "the case statement mentions that the complainant alleged that some of the accused as per instruction directly or indirectly from some others opened fire while hundreds of students including Rubel were protesting at Ring Road in Adabor area on August 5".
Meanwhile, Rubel was wounded in the firing and died in a hospital two days later, the FIR read.
Shakib Al Hasan became a Member of Parliament after winning the general elections in January this year from his hometown in Magura.
The top-ranked all-rounder is currently playing against Pakistan in the ongoing first Test in Rawalpindi.
(With inputs from agencies)