Bangladesh's former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been under investigation for murder in connection with the death of a man who was killed by police during civil unrest, the BBC reported.
Six other senior figures from the previous government are also being investigated after weeks of deadly unrest in the capital Dhaka.
Hasina resigned earlier this month and fled to neighbouring India as calls for her to step down intensified.
Just hours after the lawsuit was filed against her, she called for an investigation into the protests that led to her resignation.
In her first public statement since leaving the country, she demanded that those involved "be identified and punished accordingly".
More than 400 people were killed during the weeks-long student demonstrations that culminated in demands against Hasina. Many of them were shot dead by the police on her orders.
Lawyer Mamun Mia, who filed the case against the former prime minister on behalf of a private individual, said the Dhaka court had ordered the police to accept the "murder case against the accused".
This is the first step in a criminal investigation under Bangladeshi law.
Businessman Amir Hamza filed a murder case in July after local grocer Abu Saeed was shot in the head while crossing the road.
According to BBC Bangla, he told the court that on July 19, students held a peaceful protest, claiming that the police fired indiscriminately on the crowd.
Hamza said he was not related to Saeed but went to court because the grocer's family did not have the financial means to file a lawsuit.
"I am the first ordinary citizen who dares to take this legal step against Sheikh Hasina for her crimes. I will see the case through," he told Reuters.
Magistrate Rajesh Chowdhury ordered the police to investigate the case, the first filed against Hasina since the protests began.
The former Minister of Transport and Bridges, Obaidul Quader, is among the persons under investigation.
Hasina's government, which has been in power for 15 years, has been accused of widespread human rights abuses and dogged by allegations of rampant corruption. | BGNES
