A quarter century has passed since the deadly bomb attack at the Ramna Batamul Pohela Boishakh celebration in 2001, yet the trial in the explosive substances case remains unfinished, even as the murder case was disposed of more than a decade ago.
On April 14, 2001, successive bomb blasts turned the Bengali New Year celebrations at Ramna Batamul into tragedy, killing nine people on the spot. One more victim later died in hospital. The incident prompted the filing of two cases—one under murder charges and another under the Explosives Substances Act.
Although the murder case was concluded 13 years after the attack, the explosive substances case remains pending, currently stuck at the stage of the accused’s self-defence hearing under Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. It is now being heard by Metropolitan Special Tribunal-15.
According to case records, the court completed recording witness testimony on March 21, 2022, and fixed the same day for Section 342 proceedings. The case was later transferred to Metropolitan Special Tribunal-1 on July 28, 2022, and then sent to Metropolitan Special Tribunal-15 on January 3, 2023. It has since remained at the self-defence hearing stage for more than four years.
On March 31 this year, the scheduled hearing could not proceed as the prison authorities failed to produce the accused in court. Judge Taohida Akter of Metropolitan Special Tribunal-15 subsequently fixed July 9 for the next hearing.
Dhaka Metropolitan Public Prosecutor Omar Faruq Faruqi said the murder case has already been resolved, while in the explosives case, testimonies of 54 out of 84 witnesses have been recorded. “The case is now at its final stage,” he said, adding that limited progress was made during what he termed the period of the previous “fascist government”.
He expressed the hope that a verdict will be reached before the next Pohela Boishakh, noting delays caused by the absence of key witnesses and prior High Court proceedings. “As the murder case has already been proven, we are hopeful of maximum punishment in this case as well,” he said.
Additional Public Prosecutor Mahfuz Hasan said the state is working to conclude the trial quickly, but multiple accused remain in different district jails in connection with other cases, delaying their production in court and so slowing down proceedings. He was hopeful that victims’ families would receive justice soon.
Defence lawyer Md. Zashim Uddin, however, said several accused have been in custody for 17–18 years and argued that they were not named in the FIR. “They were implicated later based on a confessional statement of one accused, without corroborative evidence,” he said, adding that prolonged detention violates principles of justice.
Another defence lawyer, Md. Idi Amin, said repeated efforts to conclude the trial have been hindered as authorities have not produced the accused in court during hearings, citing security concerns. He said the accused have already spent 20–25 years in custody and argued that further punishment would be excessive, noting that bail applications were also rejected.
The accused in the explosive substances case include Arif Hasan alias Suman alias Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Ullah alias Jewel, Maulana Abu Bakar alias Hafiz Selim Hawlader, Maulana Sabbir alias Abdul Hannan Sabbir, Mufti Ab Hay, Maulana Shaukat Osman alias Sheikh Farid, Mufti Shafiqur Rahman, Alhaj Maulana Md Tajuddin, Hafiz Jahangir Alam Badar, Hafiz Maulana Abu Taher, and Maulana Akbar Hossain alias Helal Uddin. Of them, seven are in jail, two are absconding, and two are on bail.
On June 23, 2014, Second Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Ruhul Amin delivered the verdict in the murder case, sentencing eight people to death.
The death row convicts were Mufti Abdul Hannan, Maulana Akbar Hossain, Arif Hasan Suman, Maulana Tajuddin, Hafiz Jahangir Alam Badar, Maulana Abu Bakar alias Hafiz Selim Hawlader, Maulana Abdul Hai, and Maulana Shafiqur Rahman. Six others—Shahadat Ullah Jewel, Maulana Sabbir, Shaukat Osman alias Sheikh Farid, Maulana Abdur Rauf, Maulana Yahya, and Maulana Abu Taher—were sentenced to life imprisonment. All convicts were also fined Tk 50,000 each.
The prosecution stated that on April 14, 2001, bomb explosions at Ramna Batamul during Pohela Boishakh celebrations killed nine people instantly, with one more succumbing to injuries later. Sergeant Amal Chandra of Nilkhet Police Outpost filed two separate cases with Ramna Police Station the same day under murder and explosives laws.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) later submitted charge sheets against 14 accused after nearly eight years. The trial was delayed due to repeated changes of investigating officers, supplementary charge sheets, and the failure of investigators to appear in court despite summons.
On November 29, 2008, CID Inspector Abu Hena Md Yusuf, the eighth investigating officer, submitted separate charge sheets in the two cases. Both cases were transferred to the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court on January 1, 2009, where charges were framed on April 16 the same year.
The murder case was later sent to Speedy Trial Tribunal-3 and the explosives case to Speedy Trial Tribunal-1. However, the explosives case remains pending before the trial court to this day.
