Staff Reporter:
The High Court has observed that the 21 August 2004 grenade attack case should be sent to the Home Ministry for a fresh investigation by a qualified and expert agency to ensure justice.
The HC bench of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain made the remarks while delivering the full text of its verdict on Thursday.
The HC also directed the concerned office to forward a copy of this order to the Home Ministry for appropriate and necessary action.
“It is a heinous, tragic incident in the history of this country, where many people lost their lives, including then Awami League leader Ivy Rahman. The killings need to be investigated properly and independently to ensure justice, which has been completely absent in this case until today. In this context, we believe the case should be referred to the Ministry of Home Affairs to take necessary steps and initiate a fresh investigation by a proper and expert agency to ensure the proper administration of justice,” said the High Court bench.
On December 1, the bench overturned the verdict of a lower court in two cases filed over the 21 August grenade attack, acquitting all convicts, including BNP’s Acting Chairperson Tarique Rahman and former state minister for home affairs Lutfozzaman Babar.
The court also declared the charge sheet in the case “illegal.”
The bench delivered the judgment after holding a hearing on death references (trial court documents for confirmation of capital punishment) and appeals filed by some of the convicts of the cases.
The grenade attack, a shocking incident, occurred on Dhaka’s Bangabandhu Avenue on 21 August 2004.
At least 24 people, including Awami League’s women affairs secretary and late President Zillur Rahman’s wife Ivy Rahman, were killed. Three hundred others were also injured. Sheikh Hasina survived but suffered hearing impairment.
On October 10, 2018, a Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal issued a verdict in one of the cases (pertaining to murder and explosives).
The tribunal sentenced 19 people, including Lutfozzaman Babar and former deputy education minister Abdus Salam Pintu, to death.
Besides, 19 others, including BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman, were handed life imprisonment sentences, while 11 accused received various terms of imprisonment and fines.
