Bangladesh’s Justice System Under Siege: PBI Finds Majority of Jul–Aug 2024 Violence Cases Are False
When justice becomes a weapon, ordinary people become its victims.
Bangladesh’s Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) has now officially confirmed what human rights defenders, lawyers, and victims’ families have been saying for months: the justice system is being abused on a massive scale following the July–August 2024 violence.
According to PBI findings, more than half of the investigated cases are false, baseless, or fabricated. And even where evidence exists, the majority of accused people have no connection to the alleged crimes at all.
This is not justice. This is persecution by paperwork.
The Numbers That Expose the Truth
Out of 78 completed investigations, PBI found:
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56% of cases had no merit
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27 cases were completely false and baseless
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17 cases were withdrawn or “settled”
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Only 34 cases showed prima facie evidence
But even among those 34 cases, the abuse did not stop.
In several cases, up to 90% of people named in FIRs were found to be entirely unconnected to the incidents.
This means innocent people were named deliberately, not by mistake.
“Ghost Cases” and Mass Implication
PBI uncovered shocking irregularities, including:
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Non-existent complainants and witnesses
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Mass listing of hundreds of accused in a single case
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Accused persons named from far-off districts for crimes allegedly committed in Dhaka
PBI chief Additional IG Md. Mostofa Kamal stated plainly that many accused individuals had never even visited Dhaka in their lives.
This confirms a dangerous reality:
👉 FIRs are being used as tools of intimidation, not justice.
Human Rights Warnings Proven Right
Prominent human rights lawyer Advocate Manzil Murshid estimates the real number of false cases may be 60–70%, saying PBI’s findings only confirm long-standing warnings.
Human rights organizations have consistently raised alarms about:
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Politically motivated case filings
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Arbitrary arrests and prolonged detention
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Use of cases for extortion and personal vendettas
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Deliberate delays in investigation
Yet these warnings were ignored—until now.
📉 A System Overloaded, A Nation Paying the Price
Across Bangladesh, 1,785 criminal cases have been filed in connection with the July–August violence, implicating hundreds of thousands of people, mostly linked to Awami League leaders, activists, and supporters.
Despite this massive number, chargesheets have been submitted in only 106 cases.
This imbalance exposes a system designed not to deliver justice, but to harass, silence, and punish through fear.
Justice Must Not Be Political
Accountability for violence is necessary.
But false cases destroy lives, erode trust, and turn law into a tool of repression.
The PBI findings are not just statistics —
they are proof that Bangladesh’s justice system is being weaponized.
Real justice demands:
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Accountability for false case filers
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Protection against mass implication
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Transparent and timely investigations
Without reform, the damage will not stop.
Sources:
Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), Bangladesh Police Headquarters
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