DHAKA, Oct 10, 2018 (BSS) – A special court of Dhaka today awarded death penalty to two fugitive accused and life term imprisonment to 12 more in the cases regarding August 21, 2004 grenade attack on an Awami League rally in the capital.
“Out of the 18 fugitives, two got death penalty, 12 life imprisonment and four others — two police officials and two army personnel — got two years imprisonment in the verdict of the grenade attack cases,” prosecutor of the case Advocate Moshrraf Hossain Kazal told BSS today.
Replying to a query he said, “None of the fugitives can file appeal against the verdict without surrendering before the court.”
He hoped to bring back all of the fugitives in the quickest possible time.
Of the 18 fugitives, the banned militant outfit Harkat-ul-Jihad Al Islami (HuJI) top leader Alhaz Maulana Md Tajuddin and BNP leader and proprietor of Hanif Paribahan Mohammad Hanif, were awarded death sentence.
While the court also awarded life term imprisonment to 12 fugitives including BNP acting chairperson Tarique Rahman, political adviser to former premier Begum Khaleda Zia, Harris Chowdhury, and BNP former lawmaker Kazi Shah Mofazzal Hossain Kaikobad.
Other fugitives who got life term imprisonment are: HuJI leaders and also two brothers – Mohibul Muttakin alias Muttakinand Anisul Morchhalin alias Morchhalin – Mohammad Khalil, Jahangir Alam Badr, Md Iqbal, Liton alias Maulana Liton, Mufti Shafiqur Rahman, Mufti Abdul Hai, Ratul Ahmed Babu alias Ratul Babu.
Of them, Ratul Babu is the brother of death sentence awardees former BNP’s deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu and Alhaz Maulana Md Tajuddin.
The court also awarded two-year jail to four other fugitives – Khan Sayeed Hasan, Obaidur Rahman Khan, Lt Col (Rtd) Saiful Islam Zoarder and Maj Gen (LPR) AT Amin.
However, police have identified whereabouts of 18 fugitives out of the 49 convicted accused in the August 21, 2004 grenade attack cases.
“We have already traced locations of eight of the fugitive accused with the help of Interpol and our missions abroad and are trying to find out the locations of 10 others,” said Abdul Kahar Akand, additional deputy inspector general (Addl DIG) of Criminal Investigation Department and also the Investigation Officer (IO) of the August 21 grenade attack case.
According to CID and police headquarters sources, Maulana Tajuddin and his brother Ratul Ahmed alias Ratul Babu are now in South Africa, BNP’s Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman is in London, former lawmaker Mofazzol Hossain Kaikobad in Saudi Arabia, former Major General ATM Amin and Lt Col Saiful Islam Joarder are in Dubai, two brothers and also Harkatul Jihad leaders Mohibul Muttakin and Anisul Morchchalin in Tihar Jail of India.
Abul Harris Chowdhury is moving through Malaysia, London, Singapore, the USA and India, the sources said.
However, the location of then deputy commissioners of police Khan Sayeed Hasan and Obaidur Rahman Khan, HuJI leaders Mohammad Khalil, Jahangir Alam Badar, Liton alias Maulana Liton, Md Iqbal, Mufti Shafiqur Rahman (Bhairab), and Mufti Abdul Hai and owner of Hanif Paribahan, Mohammad Hanif are yet to be located.
Red notices have been served on Khan Sayeed Hasan and Obaidur Rahman Khan immediately after submission of the charge sheet. Maulana Tajuddin was served red notice on February 5 in 2015, Tarique Rahman on April 13, 2015, Harris Chowdhury on November 31 2015, and Ratul Babu on February 13, 2017.
Maulana Tajuddin was arrested by South African police in line with the red notice of Interpol and released on bail. But he is now facing trial as a trespasser in South Africa.
The heinous grenade attack was carried out on an anti-terrorism rally of Awami League, visibly with an aim to kill all the front ranking party leaders including its president and incumbent Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who narrowly survived sustaining permanent hearing impairment.
The other central leaders around her also miraculously escaped the attack as the assailants with grenades narrowly missed their targets.
The then Mohila Awami League President and late President Zillur Rahman’s wife, Ivy Rahman, was one of the 24 killed in the attack.
Two separate cases – one for murder and another under the explosives act – were filed with Motijheel police station the next day.
During the last caretaker government’s tenure, the first two charge sheets in the cases were placed before the court on June 9, 2008 accusing 22 people, including former deputy minister of BNP-Jamaat alliance government Abdus Salam Pintu and 21 HuJI leaders and workers.
Later, on July 2 in 2011, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) submitted two separate supplementary charge sheets in the cases against 30 people after a fresh investigation. With the 30 accused, the number of the chargesheeted accused in the cases rose to 52.
Three accused of the case former minister and Jamaat-e-Islami secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, and Harkatul Jihad chief Mufti Abdul Hannan and another leader of the militant outfit Shahidul Alam Bipul were hanged in other cases.