Lucky Begum, wife of Ismail, told International Crimes Tribunal-1 on Thursday that her husband’s skull had been shattered and his brain exposed after he was shot dead by police in Rampura during the July 2024 uprising. 

“After Maghrib, I received the news that Ismail was no more. When I arrived, I saw that his skull had been shattered and his brain was exposed. The area around him was covered in blood. We could not even move his body without wrapping his head in a bandage,” she said in her testimony.

Lucky gave her statement before the tribunal, headed by Justice Md Mohitul Haque Enam Chowdhury.

According to her testimony and the case documents, Ismail left his home in Rampura in an auto-rickshaw at around 3pm on July 19, 2024. Later that day, he was shot in front of Delta Care Hospital in Rampura.

Neighbours brought Ismail’s body home in a van.

Taking her husband’s body to their village for burial proved difficult, as police and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel were deployed in the area and ambulances were scarce.

After spending hours at Better Life Hospital without securing an ambulance, the family arranged one themselves. On the way to the village, police and BGB personnel repeatedly stopped the vehicle carrying Ismail’s body and questioned the family, causing further harassment.

The family was forced to claim that Ismail had died in a road accident and had not taken part in the movement to secure permission to proceed.

Ismail was finally buried on July 20 in his home village in Bancharampur, Brahmanbaria.

She identified her husband and the accused in photographs shown to the court.

“I want justice for my husband’s murder. I want justice for the brutal way he was taken from me,” she told the tribunal.

The case concerns the violence in Rampura during the July 2024 uprising. The tribunal has framed six specific charges of crimes against humanity against four people, including former BGB officer Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Redwanul Islam.

According to the allegations, Redwanul personally fired live ammunition at protesters on July 19 without provocation.

At least 28 civilians were killed by gunfire from BGB and other law enforcement personnel during operations in Rampura, Banasree and Meradia, according to the case allegations.

The prosecution has also alleged that Redwanul, as a commander involved in leading the operation, bears responsibility for the use of lethal weapons and tactics against unarmed civilians.

The two other accused who remain at large are former Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police for the Khilgaon zone of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, Md Rashedul Islam, and former officer-in-charge of Rampura Police Station, Md Mashiur Rahman.

According to the investigation report, 28 people were killed and many others injured during the violence in Rampura amid the July-August 2024 uprising. The report alleges that Redwanul Islam was seen firing directly at protesters, while the other accused also played roles in directing the operation.

Following the investigation, the prosecution filed formal charges against the four accused before the tribunal.

On December 24, 2025, International Crimes Tribunal-1 framed formal charges against the four accused and ordered the trial to begin. Formal proceedings in the case began on February 19, 2026.