Police have arrested a fugitive who was convicted of attacking the current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's convoy in Satkhira 19 years ago.
Arifur Rahman Ranju, was apprehended by the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) in Dhaka's Hazaribagh on Friday.
AKM Hafiz Akhter, additional commissioner (DB) of DMP, confirmed the matter during a press briefing held at the DMP media centre on Saturday.
Ranju, a leader of the Kalaroa Government College unit of Chhatra Dal at the time, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in the case, he said.
On August 30, 2002, Awami League chief Hasina, the then leader of the opposition, went to Satkhira Central Hospital to visit the wife of a freedom fighter who had been raped.
Her motorcade was attacked in front of the Kalaroa Upazila BNP office while she was on her way back to Dhaka. Aside from the bomb attack and vandalism of cars, gunshots were also fired at Hasina.
Central leaders of the Awami League accompanying Hasina along with local activists and journalists were all injured in the attack.
Moslem Uddin, the then general secretary of the Kolaroa Awami League later went to file a case with Kalaroa police station, but they did not accept it.
He then filed the case with Satkhira Judicial Magistrate’s Court in this connection, naming the then BNP MP Habibul Islam Habib as an accused.
The court then ordered Kolaroa police to investigate the case. But police submitted a report on December 25, 2003, claiming that the accusations cited in the case were not true.
Challenging the report, the plaintiff filed a no-confidence petition, which was dismissed by the court. Later, the plaintiff filed a revision petition with the High Court.
On July 28, 2013, the High Court passed an order directing the police to reconsider the case and conduct a fresh investigation in the case.
In a follow-up to the order, the Satkhira Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court ordered the Kalaroa police to take action against those who attacked Hasina’s convoy.
Police subsequently pressed formal charges against 50 people, including Habibul Islam Habib, following an investigation.