Eighteen years have passed since the deadly bombs attack on people celebrating Pohela Boishakh at Ramna Batamul in Dhaka, but justice in the cases filed over the incident remains a far cry.
The attack, which was conducted during a cultural program organized by Chhayanaut to mark the Bangla New Year on April 14, 2001, left 10 people dead and 50 more injured.
Two cases were filed with Ramna police station over the attack- a murder case under the Penal Code and a case under the Explosive Substances Act - but both are stalled at different stages of trial proceedings.
According to case documents, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police found involvement of militant outfit Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJi) in the attack.
The department pressed charges in both the cases against 14 militants, including then Huji chief Mufti Hannan, on November 30, 2008.
The murder case
On June 23, 2014, a Dhaka court sentenced eight militants, including Mufti Hannan, to death and six others to life imprisonment in the murder case. However, the verdict is yet to be executed five years after it was delivered, as the appeal hearing and death references are pending with the High Court.
The eight sentenced to death are Mufti Hannan, Arif Hasan Sumon, Moulana Akbar Hossain, former BNP deputy minister Abdus Salam’s brother Moulana Tajuddin, Hafez Jahangir Alam Badar, Maulana Abu Bakar, Mufti Shafikur Rahman, and Mufti Abdul Hai.
The six sentenced to life imprisonment are Shahadat Ullah Jewel, Hafez Maulana Abu Taher, Maulana Abdur Rauf, Maulana Sabbir Hossain, Moulana Yahiya and Maulana Shawkat Osman alias Sheikh Farid.
Mufti Hannan was executed in another case in 2017, while Suman, Jewel, Abu Taher, Rouf and Akbar are behind bars. The rest are still on the run.
When contacted, High Court Deputy Attorney General Md Moniruzzman Rubel told the Dhaka Tribune the execution of the verdict had stalled as they were waiting for death references and an appeal hearing to be held under a High Court bench comprised of Justice Mohammad Ruhul Kuddus and Justice ASM Abdul Mobin.
“We are hopeful that the appeal hearing in the case will start soon,” he added
The explosive substance case
The case filed under the Explosive Substances Act has been stuck with Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal-1, mainly due to the absence of witnesses.
The tribunal has so far recorded depositions of 26 prosecution witnesses out of 84 since the case was shifted to it on October 1, 2012.
Md Alauddin Khan, the 26th prosecution witnesses, testified before the court on May 17 last year, but the prosecution has failed to produce any new witnesses since.
The court has repeatedly deferred the date for recording witness testimonies, setting it on April 25 in the latest instance on Thursday.
The court’s Special Public Prosecutor Abu Abdullah Bhuiyan told the Dhaka Tribune: “The trial is being delayed as police have not been able to produce any new witness despite the court having issued summons and arrest warrants.
“Some of the witnesses are reluctant to give their testimony for a second time after having already given it in the other case over the incident,” he added.
