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New Delhi: Muhammad Yunus’ interim government in Bangladesh has issued an ordinance to prevent any charges from being framed against the July-August protesters, while cases against Sheikh Hasina and her associates are ongoing in different courts. The ordinance means that no one will be punished for the killings of several policemen, Hindu minorities and political opponents.

According to a Bangladeshi news agency, the United News of Bangladesh (UNB), the interim government has issued the July Uprising (Security and Determination of Responsibility) Ordinance, 2026, which grants immunity to those who participated in the July Uprising. UNB reported that a gazette notification was issued by the Law Ministry on Sunday night.

Will the killers of Hindus face no punishment?
UNB reported that ‘This ordinance will withdraw all existing civil and criminal cases to the rebellion and no new cases will be registered against those who participated in it.’

This will leave the killers of policemen, minorities, including Hindus, and Awami League workers unpunished and unpunished. These killers are likely to include Islamists and fundamentalists, toward whom the Muhammad Yunus government has adopted a soft stance. Such compensation would not be supported by Bangladesh’s current constitution and could face legal challenges. However, the ordinance may survive legal challenges due to the country’s existing legal system.

As the quota movement escalated into a major protest against the Sheikh Hasina government, police used force to suppress the demonstrators. By then, the protests had been infiltrated by political elements and Islamic fundamentalists .

As the protests turned violent, police stations were burned and policemen were beaten to death. The targeted killings of policemen were another indication that the Kota protests had been hijacked. Reports indicated that dozens of policemen were killed and several police posts abandoned amid targeted attacks, clearly demonstrating that policing in Bangladesh has yet to return to normal even 1.5 years after the anti-Hasina protests.

However, according to the Dhaka Tribune, a list released by police headquarters in October 2024 stated that 44 police officers were killed during the July-August protests. Earlier in January, a clip went viral of leaders of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, which toppled Hasina’s government, claiming to have killed a Hindu police officer, Santosh Chowdhury, in an arson attack. They were referring to a brutal attack they carried out at a police station while threatening policemen and demanding the release of a colleague from custody.