New Delhi, June 1 -- Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on Sunday formally indicted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and two others on multiple charges, including mass murder, in connection with thier alleged violent crackdown on student-led protests that rocked the nation last year.

A three-judge bench of the ICT took cognizance of the charges after prosecutors accused Hasina and her former colleagues of using brutal force against protesters.

"We do hereby take into cognizance the charges," the three-judge ICT bench said, reported PTI.

The tribunal's proceedings, broadcast live on national television for the first time in the country's history, mark the beginning of Hasina's trial in absentia - nearly ten months after...