Dhaka, July 9 -- The leaked audio of a phone call suggests the deadly crackdown on student-led protests in Bangladesh last year was authorised by ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, the BBC reports.

The audio of the phone call was verified by BBC Eye.

In the audio, which was leaked online in March, Hasina authorises her security forces to "use lethal weapons" against protesters and that "wherever they find [them], they will shoot", according to the report.

According to UN investigators, up to 1,400 people died in the unrest during July and August last year. Hasina, who fled to India, and her party have rejected all charges against her.

A spokesperson for the Awami League denied the tape showed any "unlawful intention" of a "dispropor...