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Hans India
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Leaked audio: Hasina ordered brutal crackdown
London: A leaked audio recording of a conversation between Sheikh Hasina and an unidentified senior government official has revealed that the former Bangladesh Prime Minister personally ordered a brutal crackdown on student protesters last year. Verified by the BBC, Hasina can be heard saying that she directed the security forces to use 'lethal weapons' and 'shoot wherever they find them (protesters),' effectively issuing a direct order to open fire on anti-government protesters. UN's fact-finding mission has estimated up to 1,400 dead, with security forces using live ammunition intended for warfare. The audio, leaked in March this year, was recorded during a phone call made on July 18 from the Bangladeshi Prime Minister's official residence in Dhaka, Ganabhaban. In the aftermath of the call, military-grade rifles were deployed and used across Dhaka, BBC reported, citing police documents. The audio was confirmed genuine by BBC Eye, and forensic analysts at Earshot, who found no signs of manipulation. BBC Eye established from eyewitness footage, CCTV and drone imagery, that police indiscriminately opened fire on fleeing protesters for about 30 minutes immediately after army personnel vacated the area. Sheikh Hasina on trial for mass murder charges Hasina faces charges including incitement, conspiracy, and crimes against humanity at the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT). The trial began in June 2025, nearly 10 months after the ouster of her government. If convicted, Hasina faces the possibility of the death penalty. 'The Awami League categorically denies and rejects claims that some of its senior leaders, including the prime minister herself, were personally responsible for or directed the use of lethal force against crowds,' the BBC quoted a spokesperson for the party as saying.
Saudi Gazette
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Ex-Bangladesh leader authorised deadly crackdown, leaked audio suggests
DHAKA — A deadly crackdown on student-led protests in Bangladesh last year was authorised by then prime minister Sheikh Hasina, according to audio of one of her phone calls verified by BBC Eye. In the audio, which was leaked online in March, Hasina says she authorised her security forces to "use lethal weapons" against protesters and that "wherever they find [them], they will shoot". Prosecutors in Bangladesh plan to use the recording as crucial evidence against Hasina, who is being tried in absentia at a special tribunal for crimes against humanity. Up to 1,400 people died in last summer's unrest, according to UN investigators. Hasina, who fled to India, and her party reject all charges against her. A spokesperson for her Awami League party denied the tape showed any "unlawful intention" of "disproportionate response". The leaked audio of Hasina's conversation with an unidentified senior government official is the most significant evidence yet that she gave direct authorisation to shoot anti-government protesters, tens of thousands of whom had taken to the streets by last summer. The protests began against civil service job quotas for relatives of those who fought in the 1971 war of independence and escalated into a mass movement that ousted Hasina, who had been in power for 15 years. It is the worst violence Bangladesh had seen since the 1971 war. Some of the bloodiest scenes occurred on 5 August, the day Hasina fled by helicopter before crowds stormed her residence in Dhaka. The BBC World Service investigation established previously unreported details about a police massacre of protesters in the capital - including a much higher death toll. Hasina was at her residence in Dhaka, known as the Ganabhaban, for the duration of the call which took place on 18 July, a source with knowledge of the leaked audio told the BBC. It was a crucial moment in the demonstrations. Security officials were responding to public outrage at police killings of protesters captured on video and shared across social media. In the days following the call, military-grade rifles were deployed and used across Dhaka, according to police documents seen by the BBC. The recording the BBC examined is one of numerous calls involving Sheikh Hasina that were made by the National Telecommunications Monitoring Centre (NTMC), a Bangladeshi government body responsible for monitoring communications. The audio of the call was leaked in early March this year - it's unclear by whom. Since the protests, numerous clips of Hasina's calls have appeared online, many of them unverified. The leaked 18 July recording was voice matched by the Criminal Investigation Department in the Bangladesh Police with known audio of Sheikh Hasina's voice. The BBC conducted its own independent verification by sharing the recording with audio forensics experts Earshot, who found no evidence the speech had been edited or manipulated and said it was highly unlikely to have been synthetically generated. Earshot said the leaked recording was likely to have been taken in a room with the phone call played back on a speaker, due to the presence of distinctive telephonic frequencies and background sounds. Earshot identified Electric Network Frequency (ENF) throughout the recording, a frequency that's often present in audio recordings due to interference between a recording device and mains-powered equipment, an indicator that the audio has not been manipulated. Earshot also analysed Sheikh Hasina's speech – the rhythm, intonation and breath sounds - and identified consistent noise floor levels, finding no evidence of synthetic artefacts in the audio. "The recordings are critical for establishing her role, they are clear and have been properly authenticated, and are supported by other evidence," British international human rights barrister Toby Cadman told the BBC. He is advising Bangladesh's International Criminal Tribunal (ICT), the court hearing cases against Hasina and others. An Awami League spokesperson said: "We cannot confirm whether the tape recording referenced by the BBC is authentic." Alongside Sheikh Hasina, former government and police officials have been implicated in the killings of protesters. A total of 203 individuals have been indicted by the ICT, of whom 73 are in custody. BBC Eye analysed and verified hundreds of videos, images and documents detailing police attacks against demonstrators across 36 days. The investigation found that in one incident on 5 August in Jatrabari, a busy Dhaka neighbourhood, at least 52 people were killed by police, making it one of the worst incidents of police violence in Bangladesh's history. Initial reports at the time suggested 30 dead in Jatrabari on that day. The BBC investigation uncovered new details about how the massacre started and ended. Gathering eyewitness footage, CCTV and drone imagery, BBC Eye established that police opened fire indiscriminately on protesters immediately after army personnel, who were separating the police from the protesters, vacated the area. For more than 30 minutes the police shot at fleeing protesters as they tried to escape down alleyways and on the highway, before the police officers sought shelter in a nearby army camp. At least six police officers were also killed as protesters retaliated hours later, setting fire to the Jatrabari police station. A spokesperson for the Bangladesh Police told the BBC that 60 police officers had been arrested for their role in the violence in July and August last year. "There were regrettable incidents in which certain members of the then police force engaged in excessive use of force," said the spokesperson. "Bangladesh Police has launched thorough and impartial investigations." Sheikh Hasina's trial began last month. She has been charged with committing crimes against humanity, including issuing orders that led to mass killings and targeted violence against civilians, as well as incitement, conspiracy and failure to prevent mass murder. India has so far failed to comply with a Bangladeshi request for her extradition. It is unlikely that Hasina will return to the country for the trial, Mr Cadman said. The Awami League maintains that its leaders are not liable for the force used against protesters. "The Awami League categorically denies and rejects claims that some of its senior leaders, including the prime minister herself, were personally responsible for or directed the use of lethal force against crowds," a spokesperson for the party said. "The decisions made by senior government officials were proportionate in nature, made in good faith and intended to minimise the loss of life." The party has rejected the findings of United Nations investigators, who said they had found reasonable grounds to believe the actions of Hasina and her government could amount to crimes against humanity. The BBC approached the Bangladesh army for comment but did not receive a response. Since Hasina's fall, Bangladesh has been ruled by an interim government led by Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus. His government is preparing for national elections. It's unclear if the Awami League will be allowed to contest the vote. — BBC
Indian Express
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
‘Shoot wherever they find': How Bangladesh ex-PM Sheikh Hasina ordered deadly crackdown on student-led protests
'Wherever they find (them), they will shoot' — former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was heard saying in a leaked audio recording, as she announced a crackdown on student-led protests in 2024 that had killed at least 1,400 people, a report by BBC has revealed. In the recording verified by BBC Eye, Hasina can also be heard instructing the security forces to 'use lethal weapons' against protesters. The directive by the former Bangladeshi prime minister was given during her phone call with a senior government official on July 18 from her official residence in Dhaka, which is also known as Ganabhaban. Hours after the call, security forces in Dhaka used military-grade rifles that killed at least 1,400 people, reported BBC, citing police documents. However, a spokesperson of Hasina's Awami League denied that the tape showed any 'unlawful intention' of 'disproportionate response'. A UK-based human rights advocate advising Bangladesh's International Criminal Tribunal (ICT) said that the audio recording was significant evidence in establishing Hasina's role in the killing of the protesters. 'The recordings are critical for establishing her role, they are clear and have been properly authenticated, and are supported by other evidence,' Toby Cadman told the BBC. Bangladesh's political landscape saw a major upheaval when student-led protests against a government job quota system escalated to violent clashes and unrest that forced the then-prime minister, Hasina, to flee to India, putting an end to her 15-year rule. Following her dramatic ouster, the military declared it would form an interim government, which is now helmed by Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus. Hasina charged with crimes against humanity in Bangladesh Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal charged Hasina with crimes against humanity, alleging her role in ordering mass killings during a nationwide uprising in July. The charges, submitted by Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam and his team, accuse Hasina of being the chief instigator behind the violent crackdown that unfolded during the July and August unrest, according to The Dhaka Tribune. 'The evidence points clearly to her role in directing the operation,' Islam told The Dhaka Tribune following the filing 'This was a coordinated attack on civilians, and she bears command responsibility.'
India Today
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- India Today
Moose Wala made unforgivable mistakes: Goldy Brar on hip-hop star's murder
Gangster Goldy Brar has spoken out about the killing of popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala, three years after the artiste was gunned down in broad daylight. In an interview with the BBC World Service, Brar justified the killing, saying Moose Wala had committed "unforgivable" mistakes."In his arrogance, he [Moose Wala] made some mistakes that could not be forgiven," Brar told BBC Eye. "We had no option but to kill him. He had to face the consequences of his actions. It was either him or us. As simple as that."advertisementThe BBC released a two-part documentary series, coinciding with the singer's birth anniversary on June 11. The documentary, which includes an audio interview with Brar, delves into Moose Wala's life, controversies, and the circumstances surrounding his assassination. However, the documentary's release has sparked controversy, with Moose Wala's family moving court to halt its screening. Sidhu Moose Wala was fatally shot on May 29, 2022, in Punjab's Mansa district while driving his black Mahindra Thar SUV. CCTV footage showed two cars tailing him before one vehicle cornered his SUV. Moose Wala was hit by 24 bullets and declared dead on arrival at the hospital. A cousin and a friend accompanying him were injured but Brar, a Canada-based gangster linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, claimed responsibility for the murder via a Facebook post hours after the killing. Although believed to be in Canada at the time, Brar has evaded arrest, and no one has been brought to trial so the BBC interview, which unfolded over a six-hour exchange of voice notes, Brar gave a detailed account of his alleged grievances against the late claimed Moose Wala had promoted a kabbadi tournament organised by the rival Bambiha gang, sparking tensions with Bishnoi's syndicate. Although an associate, Vicky Middukhera, later mediated a truce, his subsequent murder in August 2021 reignited alleged that Moose Wala's friend and former manager, Shaganpreet Singh, helped orchestrate Middukhera's murder. Singh later fled India and is reportedly in Australia. Though Punjab Police said there is no evidence linking Moose Wala to gang activities, Brar remains convinced of his complicity."Everyone knew Sidhu's role, the police investigating knew, even the journalists who were investigating knew. Sidhu mixed with politicians and people in power. He was using political power, money, his resources to help our rivals," Brar told the BBC."We wanted him to face punishment for what he'd done. He should have been booked. He should have been jailed. But nobody listened to our plea. So we took it upon ourselves. When decency falls on deaf ears, it's the gunshot that gets heard."When asked about bypassing the legal system, Brar said, "Law. Justice. There's no such thing. Only the powerful can... [obtain] justice, not ordinary people like us."advertisementBrar also denied that extortion was the motive behind the killing but acknowledged that it is central to how gangs operate. "We have to look after hundreds or even thousands of people who are like family to us. We have to extort people. To get money, we have to be feared."The BBC documentary features interviews with Moose Wala's old friends, journalists, and senior police officers from Punjab and Delhi. Initially scheduled for a private screening in Mumbai, it was later uploaded to YouTube following public backlash and legal objections from the singer's Wala's father, Balkaur Singh Sidhu, has filed a police complaint seeking a ban on the documentary. In his complaint to Maharashtra's DGP and Mumbai's Juhu Police Station, he alleged that the BBC documentary was an attempt to tarnish his son's claimed that the film, which features individuals named in the FIR related to Moose Wala's murder, was released without the family's consent and could misrepresent to India Today, Balkaur Singh confirmed that the family objected to the release and would soon approach the High Court after filing a petition in the Mansa court. The court is scheduled to hear the matter on June journalist Ritesh Lakhi described Moose Wala's killing as "the biggest" in decades and said it had emboldened extortion rackets. "The capacity of gangsters to extort money has gone up. [Goldy Brar]'s getting huge sums of money after killing Moose Wala.""The fear factor around gangsters has risen amongst the public. It's not just people in the music and film industry who are being extorted - even local businessmen are receiving calls," BBC quoted Deputy Editor of The Tribune, Jupinderjit Singh, as Moose Wala rose to global fame for his raw lyrics that touched on gang culture, political disillusionment, and Punjabi identity. With over five billion YouTube views, collaborations with international artists like Burna Boy, and a top-five UK chart spot, he became a symbol of pride for many in the Punjabi the accusations, police have reiterated that Moose Wala had no known ties to criminal gangs and denied any conclusive evidence linking him to the killing of Reel
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Yahoo
Gangster tells BBC why India's biggest hip-hop star was murdered
It was a killing that shocked India: Punjabi hip-hop star Sidhu Moose Wala shot dead through the windscreen of his car by hired gunmen. Within hours, a Punjabi gangster named Goldy Brar had used Facebook to claim responsibility for ordering the hit. But three years after the murder, no-one has faced trial - and Goldy Brar is still on the run, his whereabouts unknown. Now, BBC Eye has managed to make contact with Brar and challenged him about how and why Sidhu Moose Wala became a target. His response was coldly articulate. "In his arrogance, he [Moose Wala] made some mistakes that could not be forgiven," Brar told the BBC World Service. "We had no option but to kill him. He had to face the consequences of his actions. It was either him or us. As simple as that." On a warm May evening in 2022, Sidhu Moose Wala was taking his black Mahindra Thar SUV for its usual spin through dusty lanes near his village in the northern Indian state of Punjab when, within minutes, two cars began tailing him. CCTV footage later showed them weaving through narrow turns, sticking close. Then, at a bend in the road, one of the vehicles lurched forward, cornering Moose Wala's SUV against a wall. He was trapped. Moments later, the shooting began. Mobile footage captured the aftermath. His SUV was riddled with bullets, the windscreen shattered, the bonnet punctured. In trembling voices, bystanders expressed their shock and concern. "Someone get him out of the car." "Get some water." "Moose Wala has been shot." But it was too late. He was declared dead on arrival at hospital - hit by 24 bullets, a post-mortem would later reveal. The 28-year-old rapper, one of modern-day Punjab's biggest cultural icons, had been gunned down in broad daylight. A cousin and a friend who had been in the car with Moose Wala at the time of the ambush were injured, but survived. Six gunmen were eventually identified. They carried AK-47s and pistols. In the weeks that followed the murder, about 30 people were arrested and two of the suspected armed men were killed in what the Indian police described as "encounters". Yet even with arrests piling up, the motive remained murky. Goldy Brar, who claims to have ordered the hit, wasn't in India at the time of the killing. He is believed to have been in Canada. Our conversation with him unfolded over six hours, pieced together through an exchange of voice notes. It gave us a chance to find out why Moose Wala had been killed and to interrogate the motives of the man who claimed responsibility. Sidhu Moose Wala was born Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu in a Jat-Sikh family in rural Punjab, before moving in 2016 to Canada to study engineering - a journey familiar to hundreds of thousands in the Punjabi diaspora. But it was there, far from his village of Moosa - the inspiration for his rap name - that he reinvented himself as one of Punjabi music's most influential artists. In just five years, Moose Wala became the unmistakable voice of Punjabi hip-hop. With his signature swagger, flashy style, and lyrical grit, Moose Wala sang openly about identity and politics, guns and revenge, pushing the boundaries of what Punjabi music had been willing to say. He was fascinated by rapper Tupac Shakur, who had been murdered, aged 25, in 1996. "In terms of personality, I want to be like him," Moose Wala once told an interviewer. "The day he died, people cried for him. I want the same. When I die, people should remember that I was someone." Over a brief but explosive career, the singer spotlighted the darker undercurrents of India's Punjab region - gangster culture, unemployment, and political decay - while evoking a deep nostalgia for village life. Moose Wala was also a global force. With more than five billion views of his music videos on YouTube, a Top 5 spot in the UK charts, and collaborations with international hip-hop artists including Burna Boy, Moose Wala swiftly built a fan base stretching across India, Canada, the UK and beyond, powered by a diaspora that saw him as both icon and insurgent. But fame came at a cost. Despite his rising star and socially conscious lyrics, Moose Wala was drifting into dangerous territory. His defiant attitude, visibility, and growing influence had drawn the attention of Punjab's most feared gangsters. These included Goldy Brar, and Brar's friend Lawrence Bishnoi, who even then was in high-security jail in India. Not much is known about Brar, apart from the fact he is on the Interpol Red Notice list, and is a key operative in a network of gangsters operated by Bishnoi – orchestrating hits, issuing threats and amplifying the gang's reach. It is thought he emigrated to Canada in 2017, just a year after Moose Wala himself, and initially worked as a truck driver. Bishnoi, once a student leader steeped in Punjab's violent campus politics, has grown into one of India's most feared criminal masterminds. "The first [police] cases filed against Lawrence Bishnoi were all related to student politics and student elections… beating a rival student leader, kidnapping him, harming him," according to Jupinderjit Singh, deputy editor of Indian newspaper the Tribune. This led to a spell in jail which hardened him further, says Gurmeet Singh Chauhan, Assistant Inspector General of the Anti-Gangster Task Force of Punjab Police. "Once he was in jail, he started to get deeper into crime. Then he formed a group of his own. When it became an inter-gang thing, he needed money for survival. They need more manpower, they need more weapons. They need money for all that. So, for money, you have to get into extortion or crime." Now 31, Bishnoi runs his syndicate from behind bars - with dedicated Instagram pages and a cult-like following. "So while Bishnoi sits in jail, Brar handles the gangs," says Assistant Inspector General Chauhan. Securing BBC Eye's exchange with Brar took a year of chasing - cultivating sources, waiting for replies, gradually getting closer to the kingpin himself. But when we got through to Brar, the conversation cast new light on the question of how and why he and Bishnoi came to see Moose Wala as an enemy. One of the first revelations was that Bishnoi's relationship with Moose Wala went back several years, long before the singer's killing. "Lawrence [Bishnoi] was in touch with Sidhu [Moose Wala]. I don't know who introduced them, and I never asked. But they did speak," said Brar. "Sidhu used to send 'good morning' and 'good night' messages in an effort to flatter Lawrence." A friend of Moose Wala's, who spoke anonymously, also told us that Bishnoi had been in touch with Moose Wala as early as 2018, calling him from jail and telling him he liked his music. Brar told us that the "first dispute" between them came after Moose Wala had moved back to India. It began with a seemingly innocuous match of kabbadi - a traditional South Asian contact team sport - in a Punjabi village. Moose Wala had promoted the tournament which was organised by Bishnoi's rivals - the Bambiha gang - Brar told us, in a sport where match-fixing and gangster influence are rampant. "That's a village our rivals come from. He was promoting our rivals. That's when Lawrence and others were upset with him. They threatened Sidhu and said they wouldn't spare him," Brar told BBC Eye. Yet the dispute between Moose Wala and Bishnoi was eventually resolved by an associate of Bishnoi's called Vicky Middhukhera. But when Middukhera himself was gunned down by gangsters in a parking lot in Mohali in August 2021, Brar told us Bishnoi's hostility towards Sidhu Moose Wala reached the point of no return. The Bambiha gang claimed responsibility for killing Middukhera. The police named Moose Wala's friend and sometime manager Shaganpreet Singh on the charge sheet, citing evidence that Singh had provided information and logistical support to the gunmen. Singh later fled India and is believed to be in Australia. Moose Wala denied any involvement. The Punjab police told the BBC there was no evidence linking Moose Wala to the killing or to any gang-related crime. But Moose Wala was friends with Shaganpreet Singh, and he was never able to shake off the perception that he was aligned with the Bambiha gang - a perception that may have cost him his life. Although he can cite no proof of Moose Wala's involvement, Brar remains convinced that the singer was somehow complicit in the killing of Middukhera. Brar repeatedly told us that Shaganpreet Singh had assisted the gunmen in the days before Middukhera's shooting - and inferred that Moose Wala himself must have been involved. "Everyone knew Sidhu's role, the police investigating knew, even the journalists who were investigating knew. Sidhu mixed with politicians and people in power. He was using political power, money, his resources to help our rivals," Brar told BBC Eye. "We wanted him to face punishment for what he'd done. He should have been booked. He should have been jailed. But nobody listened to our plea. "So we took it upon ourselves. When decency falls on deaf ears, it's the gunshot that gets heard." We put it to Brar that India has a judicial system and the rule of law - how could he justify taking the law into his own hands? "Law. Justice. There's no such thing," he says. "Only the powerful can... [obtain] justice, not ordinary people like us." He went on to say that even Vicky Middukhera's brother, despite being in politics, has struggled to get justice through India's judicial system. "He's a clean guy. He tried hard to get justice for his brother lawfully. Please call him and ask how that's going." He appeared unrepentant. "I did what I had to do for my brother. I have no remorse whatsoever." Outside the UK, watch on YouTube, or listen on The killing of Moose Wala has not just resulted in the loss of a major musical talent, it has also emboldened Punjab's gangsters. Before the singer's murder, few outside Punjab had heard of Bishnoi or Brar. After the killing, their names were everywhere. They hijacked Moose Wala's fame and converted it into their own brand of notoriety - a notoriety that became a powerful tool for extortion. "This is the biggest killing that has happened in the last few decades in Punjab," says Ritesh Lakhi, a Punjab-based journalist. "The capacity of gangsters to extort money has gone up. [Goldy Brar]'s getting huge sums of money after killing Moose Wala." Journalist Jupinderjit Singh agrees: "The fear factor around gangsters has risen amongst the public." Extortion has long been a problem in the Punjabi music industry, but now after Sidhu's murder, Singh says: "It's not just people in the music and film industry who are being extorted - even local businessmen are receiving calls." When BBC Eye quizzed Brar on this, he denied this was the motive, but died admit - in stark terms - that extortion was central to the gang's working. "To feed a family of four a man has to struggle all his life. We have to look after hundreds or even thousands of people who are like family to us. We have to extort people. "To get money," he says, "we have to be feared."
