Case trial awaits approval from govt

The court is waiting for the approval of the government to begin the trial proceedings as the case was filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act 2009. According to Article 40 (2) of the act, a court cannot take a case filed under the act under cognisance without the approval of the authority concerned in the government, sources told the Dhaka Tribune. “We filed the charge sheet in late April, and on the same day we sent the documents to the Ministry of Home Affairs for its approval to begin the trial,” said Deputy Commissioner Masrukur Rahman of the Detective Branch of police. Sub-Inspector Rakibul Hasan, general record officer at Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s (CMM) Court, told the Dhaka Tribune that the charge sheet could not be accepted at the court without the document carrying the government approval. Deputy Commissioner Masruk said police had submitted the charge sheet within six months of the attack, and all the suspects had been arrested. “Among the accused, three were killed in two gunfights with law enforcement in Dhaka. Ten other accused are in prison, five of whom have given confessional statement,” he told the Dhaka Tribune. On October 24 last year, militants hurled hand-made bombs on a gathering of Shia Muslims in front of the 17th-Century Hussaini Dalan Imambara in Dhaka just before they were going to begin the annual Tazia procession. The attack killed two people and injured more than 60 people. The Tazia procession is brought out by the Shia community in Dhaka every year on Ashura, which falls on Muharram 10 in the Islamic calendar and marks the death anniversary of Prophet Muhammad’s (SM) grandson Hussein, who was killed in the Battle of Karbala. Masruk further said police had taken all security measures to make this year’s procession safe. “Last year, we knew little about militant attacks and their style, but in the last one year we have learnt a lot and have prepared accordingly to make the procession safe,” he told the Dhaka Tribune. He said a three-tier security plan had been put in place, which includes dog squad, this year. Mirza Firoz Hossain, superintendent of Hussaini Dalan Imambara, told the Dhaka Tribune that people brought out the procession hours after the attack last year, and they would bring out the procession this year as well. He urged everyone, including members of the non-Shia communities, to come forward and make sure that the procession went peacefully.