In a new case filed over the killing of a student during the quota reform movement, Md Mahbub Hossain, who has been described as a former cabinet secretary, has been named among other accused.

However, confusion has arisen about whether Mahbub Hossain listed in the case is indeed the current cabinet secretary as no other previous cabinet secretaries were named Mahbub Hossain.

According to the Cabinet Division's website, there were 23 previous cabinet secretaries before Mahbub Hossain, but none were named Mahbub. 

This has led to questions about whether current Cabinet Secretary Mahbub Hossain has been named in the case mistakenly identified as a former cabinet secretary.

The case filed at Jatrabari Police Station on Sunday also names former Cabinet Secretary Anwarul Islam, former Principal Secretaries to the Prime Minister's Office Tofazzal Hossain Mia and Ahmed Kaikaus, former Senior Secretaries to the Ministry of Public Administration Mezbah Uddin Chowdhury and Faez Ahmed, and former Secretary Anisur Rahman, who also served as an Election Commissioner.

Though multiple attempts were made to contact Mahbub Hossain over the phone regarding this case, he could not be reached. The mobile phone of his personal secretary Kazi Shahjahan was also found switched off.

Earlier, a case was filed against former Cabinet Secretary Kabir Bin Anwar.

Additionally, two former Principal Secretaries -- Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury and Abul Kalam Azad -- have recently been arrested. Kamal Abdul Naser was an adviser to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina while Azad was elected MP from Jamalpur-5 constituency in the last general election.

Legal experts have expressed concern about the indiscriminate filing of cases, pointing out that specific charges are required in murder cases. However, the trend seems to be to name multiple individuals without adequate scrutiny. 

They argue that the government needs to issue clear guidelines for the police to follow when accepting cases.

The murder case

According to the case statement, there was a peaceful march by students and civilians at Rayerbagh of Jatrabari on 19 July. At that time, Khokon, joint general secretary of Kamrangirchar's Tekerhat unit Awami League, along with other leaders launched an armed attack on the protesters. Bullets were fired at the students, leaving 18-year-old student Mehedi Hasan dead.

Mehedi's uncle Md Nadim filed the murder case at Jatrabari Police Station where Sheikh Hasina was named as the prime accused, its officer-in-charge Md Faruq Ahmed said, declining to provide further details.

The other accused include former Food Minister Qamrul Islam, and former Inspectors General of Police Shahidul Hoque and Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun.