A Dhaka court has fixed March 13 to deliver its verdict in the case filed over the 2015 Hussaini Dalan bomb attack in Old Dhaka by militants right before the traditional Tazia procession marking the holy Ashura.
Judge Mojibur Rahman of the Anti-Terrorism Special Tribunal on Thursday scheduled the verdict after hearing closing arguments by the prosecution and defence.
The accused in the case are Kabir Hossain, Rubel Islam, Abu Sayeed, Arman, Hafez Ahsan Ullah Masud, Shah Jalal, Omar Faruk, Chan Miah, Masud Rana and Jahid Hasan -- all members of banned militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).
Masud Rana and Jahid Hasan are being tried at a juvenile court.
According to the case statement, on October 23, 2015, two persons, including a 15-year-old schoolboy named Sanju, were killed and over 100 others were injured when militants launched a grenade attack on a crowd on the Hussaini Dalan premises.
Shia Muslims had been gathering near the building to bring out a Tazia procession to mark the holy Ashura the next day. Ashura marks the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA), the grandson of Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH), and Shiites have been observing the day for centuries.
Later, Sub-inspector Jalal Uddin of Chawk Bazar police station filed a case under the Anti-Terrorism Act in this connection.
Inspector Shafiuddin of the Detective Branch, the investigating officer of the case, pressed charges against the 10 accused in the case on October 18, 2016.
