Although
a decade has elapsed since the gruesome grenade blast took place in the
capital on August 21in 2004 statements of only half of the witnesses in
the trial of the sensational case has been recorded.
However, Law
Minister Anisul Huq said on Saturday that the verdict of the grenade
attack case is expected shortly as the trial is at its concluding stage.
Annisul Huq came up with the comment while speaking as chief guest at a
voluntary blood donation programme on the occasion of the National
Mourning Day organized by the Attorney General's Office.
The
investigator of the case told the Daily Observer on Saturday that the
grenade attack was particularly planned by some high ranking persons of
the then BNP-led government.
The grenade attack was carried out on
an Awami League rally on Bangabandhu Avenue to kill the then opposition
leader Sheikh Hasina. Hasina is now the Prime Minister of the country.
But 24 leaders and activists, including late president Zillur Rahman's
wife Ivy Rahman, were killed and over 500 others injured. Sheikh Hasina,
survived the attack narrowly because some of her party leaders
protected her by forming a human shield around her.
Chief State
counsel of the case, Syed Rezaur Rahman told this correspondent that
their target was to have the trial completed by trial court in a short
span of time. Two cases were filed in connection with the August 21
grenade attack. One a murder case with 52 people named accused and
another explosive case accusing 41 people, he said. The court could
record statements of 223 witnesses till August 2016 out of 491 witnesses
in the case, he added.
"The case will take another decade to
dispose of, if the pace of the trial remains the same," a lawyer said
and added the huge number of accused in the two cases is one of the
major cause for the slow progress of the trial.
The BNP-led 18-party
alliance government had staged "a Joj Miah drama" to subvert the
investigation. Joj Miah, a petty criminal, was implicated in the cases
and the then CID obtained his 'confessional statement' in 2005.
Things
took a different turn during the past Fakhruddin Ahmed-led caretaker
government. A new CID official was given charge in July of 2007 for
fresh investigation into the carnage. The CID submitted charge sheet on
June 11 of 2008 accusing 22 persons, including Huji leader Mufti Hannan
and former deputy minister of the BNP government Abdus Salam Pintu. The
charge sheet hinted at the involvement of some government and security
high ups in the plot.
After AL came to power the prosecution filed a
petition on June 22 of 2009 with the court for further investigation
to identify the suppliers of Arges grenades and sources of financing.
The court on August 3 of 2009 ordered further investigation. Then a new
CID official was assigned to do the job.
In the hearing, the court
ordered CID for further investigation and after the investigation the
CID on July 2 of 2011 submitted supplementary charge sheet against
Tarique Rahman, Babar, Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Ali Ahsan
Muhammad Mojaheed and 28 others.
According to the supplementary
charge sheet the grisly attack was an outcome of collaboration between
the militant outfit Huji, a section of influential leaders of the BNP
and the Jamaat-e-Islami, and a section of senior officials of the Home
Ministry, police, Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI),
National Security Intelligence (NSI) and Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
Lutfozzaman
Babar, the then state minister for home affairs, Harris Chowdhury,
political secretary to then prime minister Khaleda Zia, Ali Ahsan
Mohammad Mojaheed, secretary general of Jamaat-e-Islami and the then
social welfare minister, NSI director general Brig Gen Abdur Rahim and
DGFI director Brig Gen Rezzaqul Haider Chowdhury masterminded the
attack, according to the supplementary charge sheet. Involvement of
Tarique Rahman was also alleged in the supplementary charge sheet.
According
to the supplementary charge sheet of the case, Huji leader Tajuddin,
supplier of the grenades, and brother of BNP government's deputy
minister Abdus Salam Pintu, was allowed to leave the country for
Pakistan on instructions from Lutfozzaman Babar. The then PM Khaleda Zia
was aware of this, according to the charge sheet.
Tajuddin was
provided with a fake passport with the name "Badal." Khaleda's nephew
and private secretary Saiful Islam Duke, his brother-in-law and DGFI
official Lt Col Saiful Islam Joarder and another DGFI high-up Maj Gen
ATM Amin helped Tajuddin flee the country on October 10 of 2006, at the
fag-end of the BNP rule, said the supplementary charge sheet in March
2011.
Nineteen of the 52 accused, including Tarique Rahman, have
remained fugitive from justice in a case while 24 others, including
Babar, Pintu and Mojaheed are now in jail. Eight others, including BNP
leader Ariful Islam Arif and Saiful Islam Duke, nephew of BNP
Chairperson Khaleda Zia, are free on bail.
Law enforcing agencies
believe they are abroad. One of the accused, Maulana Tajuddin, has an
Interpol red notice on him. Another two accused -- 'Mursalin' and
'Muttakim' -- are in Indian jail, according to the investigation
officer.
A CID source said former MP Mofazzal Hossain Kaikobad was in
Thailand, Hanif Paribahan owner 'Hanif' was in India, ATM Amin in the
US, Saiful Islam Joardar in Canada, and Babul alias Ratul Babu was in
India.
Others absconding include Khaleda's former political secretary
Haris Chowdhury, Shafiqur Rahman, Mufti Abdul Hye, Maulana Abu Bakar,
'Iqbal', Khalilur Rahman, Jahangir Alam Badar, Maulana Jubair alias
Delowar, Maulana Tajul Islam, former police officer Obaidur Rahman and
Khan Sayed Hasan.
Twenty-five of the accused, including, former
state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar, former state minister Abdus
Salam Pintu, Harkatul Jihad leader Mufti Abdul Hannan, are in jail.
Another accused former minister and Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General
Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed was hanged for crime against humanity.
Eight
of the accused are on bail including Khaleda's nephew Saiful Islam
Duke, former police chiefs Md Ashraful Huda, Shahidul Huq, and Khoda
Baksh Chowdhury. The first three investigation officers of the case --
CID special superintendent Ruhul Amin, and two ex-CID ASPs Munshi Atiqur
Rahman and Abdur Rashid -- and former DCC ward commissioner Ariful
Islam, too, are on bail.
Those killed in the barbaric grenade attack
included Ivy Rahman, opposition leader's personal security guard Lance
Corporal (Retd) Mahbubur Rashid, Abul Kalam Azad, Rezina Begum, Nasir
Uddin Sardar, Atique Sarkar, Abdul Kuddus Patwari, Aminul Islam Moazzem,
Belal Hossain, Mamun Mridha, Ratan Shikdar, Liton Munshi, Hasina Mamtaz
Reena, Sufia Begum, Rafiqul Islam (Ada Chacha), Mostaque Ahmed Sentu,
Md Hanif, Abul Kashem, Zahed Ali, Momen Ali, M Shamsuddin and Ishaque
Miah.
Prominent among those who suffered serious splinter injuries
included Sheikh Hasina, Amir Hossain Amu, Abdur Razzak (deceased),
Suranjit Sengupta, Obaidul Quader, Advocate Sahara Khatun, Mohammad
Hanif (deceased), Prof Abu Sayeed, AFM Bahauddin Nasim, Nazrul Islam
Babu, Awlad Hossain, Sayeed Khokon, Mahbuba Parvin, Advocate Umme Razia
Kajol, Nasima Ferdous, Shahida Tarek Dipti, Rasheda Akhter Ruma, Hamida
Khanam Moni, Engr Selim, Ruma Islam, Kazi Moazzem Hossain and Mamun
Mallick.
