Amid allegations that new trade adviser Sheikh Bashir Uddin has been charged in a murder case, the adviser said he is not sure if it is really him or someone with a similar name who has been sued.

Speaking to reporters at the Secretariat today (November 11), he said: “I don’t know much about it. Our legal team is looking into the matter. There are some inconsistencies in my name and my father’s name in the case file. I’m not sure if it’s really me or not. If confirmed, the matter will be resolved legally.”

Bashir was appointed adviser to the interim government yesterday. Some groups have expressed concern about his appointment following reports of the alleged lawsuit against the businessman.

Addressing the concerns, Bashir said: “I do not agree with the sentiments of those who are protesting. But I think they are misinformed.”

A person named “Sheikh Bashir Uddin Bhuiyan” is on the list of accused in a case filed for the killing of a 30-year-old youth named Sohan Shah during the student movement.

The name partly coincides with businessman Sheikh Bashir Uddin, who was sworn in yesterday as an adviser to the caretaker government. Even Sheikh Bashir’s father’s name is partially similar to the name on the accused list.

Sohan’s murder case was filed by his mother Sufia Begum at the Rampura police station on October 18.

Among the 57 people accused in the case, Sheikh Bashir Uddin Bhuiyan’s name is 49th on the list. His identity was mentioned as Awami League leader. The name of the father of the accused was mentioned as Sheikh Akij Uddin Bhuiyan.

According to the case file, Sohan sustained injuries when local Awami League and Chhatra League activists allegedly opened fire at a Student Anti-Discrimination Movement protest in the capital’s Rampura on July 19. Sohan succumbed to his injuries on August 24.

The defendants were accused of shooting the protesters dead and torturing the wounded.

Speaking to The Business Standard, complainant Sufia Begum said: “I was devastated after my son died. Some people asked me to sign the case documents and I signed. I didn’t know the names on the list of the accused”.

Rampura police station officer-in-charge (OC) Ataur Rahman Akand said Bashir’s full name did not match the name in the case. However, the address is the same, he said.

“We are looking into the matter,” he added.