With the 13-year old murder case filed in connection with the Ramna Botomul bomb blasts getting trapped in a fresh legal tangle, the wait for a verdict may get longer.
The trial proceedings in the case were almost complete as both prosecution and defence were done with placing arguments after the last of the 67 witnesses finished testifying before the court earlier this year.
However, on March 25, the prosecution filed a petition with the trial court requesting recall of CID Inspector Abu Hena Md Yusuf, investigation officer of the murder case.
According to prosecution, the recall was needed because one of the sketch maps prepared by Yusuf was “mistakenly” not included with the documents submitted to the court.
However, after the court issued an order allowing the recall, a defence attorney filed a petition with the High Court on April 1 challenging the legality of the order.
The sketch map, which the investigation officer showed to court during deposition, detailed the house in the capital’s Mohammadpur where the bomb attack had been planned.
The investigation officer generally prepares the map on the basis of the confessional statements given by the accused and it is considered a crucial evidence in a case.
As the High Court is yet to respond to the petition, Judge Ruhul Amin of the Second Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court of Dhaka – the court dealing with the case – on Thursday fixed April 22 for defence to submit any High Court order regarding the matter.
Defence lawyer Faruk Ahmed said not filing the sketch map was a mistake on the part of the prosecution.
Confessing the mistake that he made by not submitting the sketch map, Additional Public Prosecutor Sarder Md Zahid Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune that: “The court may recall any witness no matter what stage the case might be at. So, we have not broken any rule by requesting the recall.”
He, however, hoped to complete the trial proceedings within a short time because he said he was confident that the High Court would scrap the defence petition.
Zahid also accused the defence of trying to kill time by filing the petition with the High Court.
Law professionals said if the High Court scrapped the defence petition, then there were chances that the verdict, expected this month, could get further delayed.
However, if the HC upholds the petition, the sessions judge’s court would have to drop the recall.
The blasts, for which banned Islamist militant outfit Harkat-ul-Jihad al Islami (HuJI) has been largely blamed, killed 10 and injured scores others, who had gathered to watch Chhayanaut’s programme welcoming the Bangla Year at the Ramna Batmul on April 14, 2001.
An explosives case, filed in connection with the deadly blasts, is
currently pending with a speedy trial tribunal.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) pressed charges against 14 top leaders of banned Huji on December 30, 2008, in both the cases. Of the accused, six are still at large.