21st Aug grenade attack: Prosecution ends factual argument

Prosecution today completed their closing arguments on facts in the cases filed over the 21st August grenade attack in 2004 that left 24 Awami League leaders and activists killed and scores injured.

Judge Shahed Nuruddin of the Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 fixed January 1 for next proceeding of the case when prosecution will place their arguments on legal points.

Syed Rezaur Rahman, chief prosecutor in the August 21 attack cases, placed arguments from 12:30pm to 2:45pm today citing testimonies of defense witnesses.

Pointing out discrepancies from their testimonies, Syed Rezaur Rahman argued that testimonies of these defense witnesses are not credible.

Later, he told journalists he is hopeful about completing their total arguments on the next day and then defense will start placing their arguments.

BACKGROUND

Twenty-four leaders and activists of the AL and its associate bodies were killed and over 300 others suffered splinter injuries in the August 21 attack. Among the dead was Ivy Rahman, then Mohila AL president and also the wife of late president Zillur Rahman.

Many of the injured became crippled for life. Sheikh Hasina, then opposition leader, narrowly escaped the attack with ear injuries.

A case was filed with Motijheel Police Station the following day. But the CID submitted two charge sheets, one for killing and injuring people and another for supplying and using grenades. The second charge sheet was filed under the Explosive Substances Act.

During the BNP-Jamaat rule until October 2006, the investigators were out to misdirect the probe to protect the real culprits, according to the prosecution.

The CID failed to submit the charge sheets in the cases although then government leaders had claimed several times that the probe was about to be completed and everything would be revealed.

During the tenure of the last caretaker government, charge sheets in the August 21 attack cases were filed against 22 people, including Abdus Salam Pintu and 21 Huji men, including Mufti Hannan.

However, the investigators could not identify the mastermind and the sources of the grenades used in the attack, prosecution said.

A further probe into the cases was launched in 2009 to find out the source of the grenades.

A supplementary charge sheet was submitted against 30 accused, including Tarique, former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar and former Jamaat secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, in July 2011.

In March 2012, the tribunal indicted 52 accused, including Tarique, on murder charges while 38 accused were indicted in the case filed under the Explosive Substances Act.

The 11 other accused in the murder case were not implicated in the explosive case. They include three former IGPs, three ex-CID officials, two former senior police officials, Khaleda's nephew Duke, and two former army officers ATM Amin and Saiful Islam Joarder.

Jamaat leader Mojaheed has already been executed for committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War while Mufti Hannan and another Huji man were executed in the case filed over the grenade attack on former British high commissioner to Bangladesh Anwar Chowdhury in Sylhet.     

Their names were dropped from the cases.

Of the 49, eight accused, including three former IGPs, are now on bail while 18 including Tarique are absconding.

Twenty-three, including Lutfozzaman Babar and Abdus Salam Pintu, are now behind bars.