Even though the trials of the August 21 grenade attack cases have yet to make any significant progress 10 years since the incident, the prosecution is hopeful that those will be completed by August 21 next year.
The completion of the 10-truck arms haul case and the Ramna Batamul Bomb Blast case has intensified the trials of the two grenade attack cases since some of the accused in the cases are common.
“We are working hard to ensure fair trial. We are hopeful that the trials will end by August 21 next year,” Syed Rezaur Rahman, chief counsel of the cases, told the Dhaka Tribune.
Special public prosecutor of the Speedy Trail Tribunal 1 Abu Abdullah Bhuiyan said: “Trials of the 10-truck case, the Ramna blast case and the August 21 grenade attack cases were simultaneously underway. So, the court could not fix frequent dates for hearings in the grenade cases.
“The court is now conducting hearings two days a week. Soon, the hearings will be held for three days each week.”
He said the court had recorded statements of 16 prosecution witnesses in the last six months, while in the previous 18 months the statements of only 12 witnesses had been recorded.
So far, the tribunal recorded the statements of only 98 out of 491 prosecution witnesses since April 23, 2012 – the date of commencement of the trials for the second time.
“Although the defence is trying to delay the disposal of the cases on different excuses, we hope the trials will be completed by next year,” Abdullah added.
The grenade attack was launched on August 21, 2004 as soon as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, then opposition leader, had ended addressing a rally at Bangabandhu Avenue in the capital. The party activists were supposed to bring out a procession. Although Hasina narrowly escaped death, at least 24 people including then Mohila Awami League chief Ivy Rahman – also wife of late president Zillur Rahman – were killed and over 300 others injured.
Two cases were filed in connection with the blasts – one under the Explosive Substances Act and the other for the murders.
Rezaur Rahman alleged that the case proceedings had also been delayed because of the Joj Miah drama orchestrated by the then BNP-Jamaat to divert the incident.
According to the charge sheets, Hawa Bhaban, former political office of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, different militant organisations and the then administration had collaborated in planning and staging the grisly attack.
Md Sanaullah Miah, a defence counsel, claimed that the prosecution wanted to quickly complete the trial under pressure from the government.
Another defence lawyer Masud Ahmed Talukder said the cases started to move at a sluggish pace only after the investigation and the trials had been influenced politically.
“We do not expect fair trials from this government. But we will ensure justice if the BNP assumes office in the future,” he added.
On June 9, 2008, the CID pressed charges against BNP leader Abdus Salam Pintu, Huji chief Mufti Abdul Hannan and 20 others in the cases. After indictment, the trial began in 2008 and the court recorded statements of 61 witnesses.
After the Awami League formed government in 2009, the prosecution submitted petitions on August 3, 2009 for further investigation into the cases. On July 3, 2011, the Criminal Investigation Department submitted the supplementary charge sheet against 30 people, where the names of BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman, former state minister Lutfozzaman Babar, Harris Chowdhury and Jamaat leader Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed had been included. On March 18, 2012, the court framed charges against Tarique and others. The second trial commenced in the following month.
Among the accused, Tarique and 19 others have been absconding and 24 others, including Babar, Pintu and Mujaheed, are now in jail. Eight others are out on bail. According to intelligence sources, of the 19 fugitive accused, Tarique is now residing in London; Harris in Assam, India; Shah Mofazzal Hossain Kaikobad in Bangkok; Mohammad Hanif, owner of Hanif Enterprise, in Kolkata; Maj Gen (retd) ATM Amin in USA; Lt Col (retd) Saiful Islam Joarder in Canada; Babu alias Ratul Babu in India; while Anisul Morsalin and his brother Mohibul Muttakin are serving time at an Indian jail.
Militant leaders Shafikur Rahman, Mufti Abdul Hai, Maulana Abu Bakar, Iqbal, Khalilur Rahman, Jahangir Alam alias Badar, Maulana Liton alias Zobair alias Delwar and Maulana Tajul Islam, former deputy commissioner (east) Md Obaidur Rahman, former deputy commissioner (south) Khan Syed Hasan are also abroad. Most of them are now in Pakistan, say intelligence sources.