Saifuddin Mohammad Emdad, an Alim student at a madrasa in Dhaka who is officially recognised as a “Category-A July Warrior,” on Sunday denied filing two separate cases in Dhaka and Chattogram.
He made the statement at a press conference at the National Press Club in the capital.
Emdad said he was shot by police at Wasa Moar in Chattogram on August 5, 2024, at the height of the anti-discrimination movement. Bullets pierced his eye, head, and face, leaving him collapsed on the street. After long medical treatment, he became a symbol of the movement and was officially listed among the severely injured July fighters.
“But today, the very sacrifice I made has put me in danger. Cases have been filed in my name—one in Chattogram and another in Dhaka. These are being manipulated under the influence of powerful accused individuals, with questionable roles played by police,” he said.
In Chattogram, he himself is the plaintiff, while a man named M.A. Hashem Raju, claiming to be a human rights activist, has shown himself as filing a case on his behalf in Dhaka. “In reality, this is completely fabricated—a conspiracy to discredit the July fighters. I never filed such a case in Dhaka,” he added.
He further alleged that Mohammad Aftab Hossain, the recently transferred OC of Khulshi Police Station under CMP, is also involved in this conspiracy, saying he enjoyed undue privileges in various police stations as an investigation officer during the previous fascist regime.
On June 17, 2025, Emdad filed a case with Khulshi Police Station over being shot by police in August 2024. In that case, he provided a detailed account of the movement and named those responsible, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, senior officials of the administration, and 167 others. Among the accused are Mahbubul Alam, former President of FBCCI and the Chattogram Chamber of Commerce and Industry, along with industrial groups such as PHP Group and GPH Group, who he said financed and supported the repression, as well as those directly involved in the attacks.
He said he also submitted medical records, treatment papers, and other evidence as supporting documents.
“On August 4, 2024, I was in the New Market area of Chattogram. That afternoon, in the Khulshi Thana area, I was shot in the eye. Analysis of my mobile phone’s cellular location (CDR) clearly proves that on that day I was in Khulshi, Nasirabad, and Panchlaish—not in Dhaka,” he noted in his written speech.
Recounting the background of the false case, he said Raju contacted him earlier this year, introducing himself as a human rights activist and promising to help with his treatment, even abroad. “Under the pretext of arranging treatment and government benefits, he took my signature on blank papers and stamped sheets. Using those, he filed a case in Dhaka court, pretending to be the plaintiff. Even the address he used was false,” Emdad said.
He added that Raju never arranged any medical assistance or government support for him. Instead, he later learned through local police that Raju had filed the case in his name. “This is a completely false case and an act of fraud. He is exploiting my name to carry out case-trading,” he alleged.
After filing his case at Khulshi Thana, Emdad said he began receiving threats. At the same time, several media outlets owned by industrial groups—listed as financiers of the July movement—started deliberately portraying him in a negative manner, claiming he had been shot in both Dhaka and Chattogram on the same day and filed two cases.
“This fabricated case and misleading reports are intended to question and discredit the July uprising. Raju staged this fraudulent drama specifically to undermine my sacrifice and role in the movement,” he said.
Despite losing vision in one eye, he said he had never bowed his head. “But today, the greater wound is not in my eye—it is in my heart. Because my sacrifice is being exploited by someone to stage a fraudulent act,” he added.
Emdad said he served a legal notice to Raju on June 28, demanding the withdrawal of the case and return of his signed papers. On July 17, 2025, he also filed a General Diary (GD No. 1189) with Shahbagh Police Station after receiving no response. In addition, he has submitted an application before the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate seeking withdrawal of the false case filed by Raju.