Iresh Zaker, Who Took to the Streets with Artists on July 32, is Accused of Murder as An Accomplice of Sheikh Hasina

Staff Reporter

Dhaka, April 27, 2025: A case has been filed in a Dhaka court accusing former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and 408 others, including actor Iresh Zaker, for the murder of BNP activist Mahfuz Alam Srabon during the anti-discrimination student movement in Mirpur, Dhaka. Iresh Zaker is named as a defendant in the 157th charge sheet of the case.

The case also includes several high-profile individuals such as former MPs and ministers, former mayors of Dhaka, journalists, businessmen, election commissioners, and lawyers, among others.

During the peak of the July protests, on August 1, actors and cultural activists from the “Visual Arts Community” joined the streets in solidarity with the student movement for quota reforms. The protests demanded an end to violence, murders, mass arrests, and harassment, and the release of detained students. Iresh Zaker was present at this rally alongside prominent figures like Azmeri Hossain Badhan, Ashfaq Nipun, and Mosharraf Karim. It is reported that Iresh Zaker was one of the organizers of the protest.

On August 10, after the fall of the government, artists gathered at the Shahid Minar to demand a fair and impartial investigation into the brutal state killings that occurred during the anti-discrimination student movement, known as ‘Bloody July’. Iresh Zaker was present there as well, along with other artists.

On Sunday, April 27, court sources revealed that the victim’s brother, Mostafizur Rahman Bappi, filed a complaint in the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court on April 20. The court recorded his statement and ordered the Mirpur Model Police Station to treat the complaint as a regular case.

In the case, the plaintiff mentioned that his younger brother, Mahfuz Alam Srabon (21), was a member of the BNP and had been working casually at Renetta Company for about six months. After the start of the anti-discrimination student movement, his brother participated in various protests, supporting students with different slogans.

Last week, Iresh Zaker’s advertising agency, Asiatic Group, had 17 of its bank accounts seized. Iresh Zaker, the son of legendary actor and former Liberation War Museum trustee Ali Zaker and Sara Zaker, has shifted his focus from acting to running an advertising agency.