The government probe report and the charge sheets of two cases--one filed for the murder and the other under the explosives act--named 10 local BNP leaders and workers as the accused.

But they did not mention anything specific about the mastermind and the source of the grenade used in the gruesome attack that left the Awami League (AL) leader dead on January 27, 2005.

The trial that got underway in may 2006 despite an outcry over the controversial investigation came to a halt due to a High Court (HC) stay order.

The Kibria family has rejected the probe, as they believe the investigators did not work neutrally and influential individuals belonging to the then ruling party who might have a hand in the killing were spared from being grilled.

Complainant of the two cases, Advocate Majid Khan, too has demanded reinvestigation. But the trial court rejected his prayer for further investigation on May 3,2006.

Majid, also organising secretary of Habiganj district AL, then moved to the HC challenging the rejection.

An HC bench on May 14, 2006 stayed the proceedings of Kibria murder case that is now pending at the Sylhet Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal.

The government went to the Appellate Division and appealed the HC order. But the matter still awaits hearing.

Besides Kibria, four others were killed in the grenade attack carried out shortly after a rally at Baidderbazar of Habiganj.

Asma Kibria, wife of the slain leader, yesterday told The Daily Star,"Had there been a fair probe, the killers would already have been tried and sentenced."

She and her family have all along been demanding an international probe into the killing, maintaining that the investigators would not be allowed free rein to do the job.

They allege that the then government had been doing everything to divert the course of investigation as "some of its ministers and high-profile leaders had a role in the murder".

The Kibria family pointed out that the local investigators then would never dare interrogate them let alone linking them to the crime.

The frustration is heavy but still overrode by hope. "Since a non-party government is ruling now, we hope there will be a fair investigation into the murder," said Asma.

"The caretaker government has expressed its will to hold a violence-free election. But if fair trials into the political killings are not ensured, who will guarantee the killers won't come up with new killing missions during the election period?" she asked.

Talking to The Daily Star, complainant Majid Khan yesterday said the police so far have arrested eight of the 10 charge-sheeted accused.

AKM Abdul Quayum, who was a vice-president of Habiganj BNP before being expelled from the organisation, Ayat Ali, Kajal Mia, Selim Ahmed, Tajul Islam, Shahed Ali, Jainal Abedin Jalal, Jamir Ali, Jainal Abedin Mumin and Muhibur Rahman are behind bars while the other two--Kajal Mia and Muhibur Rahman--are on the run.

Of the accused, Tajul, Shahed, Jamir and Mumin gave confessional statements to a magistrate. But they later moved to a higher court and sought to retract their statements. They claimed they had made the confession under duress in police custody.

Majid Khan said: "According to the investigators, Quayum got Kibria killed with an intent to win the parliamentary election from Habiganj-3. Usually, it's the party high command that decides who to run from which constituency. Now the question is who among the high-ups had assured Quayum that he would be on the BNP ticket?"

He also regretted that the source of the grenade could not yet be known.

"Though the proceedings remain stalled, the caretaker government could still order a fresh investigation to ensure a fair trial," he observed.

Meantime, Quayum's son Ruhul Quayum has also demanded a reinvestigation. "My father has been made a scapegoat in the local BNP politics," he noted.

Now is the time to find the 'real culprits', he said, adding: "If there were a neutral investigation, my father would not have been in jail today."

Referring to Harkatul Jihad (HuJi) activists claiming the responsibility for the grenade attack, Ruhul said, "IO Munshi Atiqur Rahman of CID deliberately left this part [the claim] out of the HuJi operatives' confessional statements as it would contradict the charge sheet he had already submitted."

The Criminal Investigation Department was tasked with the murder case probe while Officer-in-Charge of Habiganj Sadar Police Station Shafiuzzaman was assigned to investigate the other case.

On March 14, 2005, the high-powered government committee comprising senior officials of different law enforcement and intelligence agencies submitted the investigation report. It accused 10 local BNP leaders and workers and said the grenade might have been brought from the frontier area of Sylhet.

Six days later, the CID pressed charges against the 10, describing Quayum as one of those who had orchestrated the assassination.

OC Shafiuzzaman pressed charges against the same 10 people on April 20. In his forwarding, he said Quayum had collected the grenade from Chunarughat area. He however did not mention the supplier's name.

According to all three probe reports, the motive for the killing was election politics. Kibria was killed so that Quayum could win from the Habiganj-3 constituency in the upcoming election.

The striking similarities between the reports have raised questions whether the charge sheets just followed the government investigation report.

According to the documents, Quayum had assumed that the potential local BNP candidates Abu Leis Mobin Chowdhury, GK Gaus and Chowdhury Ashraful Bari Noman would be blamed for the killing, thus clearing the way for him to get the nomination.

The BNP-led four-party alliance, however, nominated Noman, former district BNP general secretary and a lawyer, to contest from Habiganj-3 the polls that had been planned for January 22.