There has been a long debate over the August 21 grenade attack on an Awami League rally about whether the assailants fired shots targeting Hasina’s vehicle to kill her whereas the BNP saw the incident as a drama staged by the then the main opposition party.
The then ruling BNP in 2004 came to the conclusion that the August 21 grenade attack on the Awami League rally was orchestrated by none other than AL men. They had argued that the grenades were hurled to create a situation where they could topple the government, not to kill AL President Sheikh Hasina.
But AL leaders, including Sheikh Hasina, had been claiming that the attack was launched targeting her. Apart from hurling the grenades, assailants fired shots at the bulletproof vehicle to kill her when she was trying to get away from the scene.
The BNP-led alliance government had turned down the AL claims and said experts did not find any evidence from the vehicle.
However, Interpol in its investigation at that time had found that shots had been fired.
On September 9 in 2004, separate teams from Interpol and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) came to Bangladesh to investigate the attack. They talked with the investigation officer (IO) of the grenade attack case and the high officials from CID.
They also visited the spot on Bangabandhu Avenue, collected evidence and examined video footage.
Fredy Brad Ford, a member of the Interpol, submitted a report on November 15, 2004.
In the report, he said,“There were some shootings around the vehicle [of Hasina], more than ten rounds perhaps. The window on her side was shot twice and the back window five times. The vehicle was also struck by grenade pellets.”
“Mahbub, one of her bodyguards, was protecting her in the shield and he was felled by a bullet near her vehicle, net by a large splinter.”
The Dhaka Tribune has obtained a copy of the Interpol findings which started narrating the incident with the subhead “Mayhem in the afternoon of 21 August.”
It said Sheikh Hasina left Sudha Sadan about 4:35 pm on that day to attend the rally and there was usual car arrangement.
“Her bulletproof car was preceded by a police pilot vehicle with eight uniformed policemen. Her vehicle was followed by a police pick-up and two cars carrying her entourage. The last in her motorcade was the rear pilot vehicle of uniformed policemen.”
Hasina reached the rally venue in front of the AL central office about 4:55 pm. She got down from the car at a distance of about 10 feet and got into the truck.
A table was set at the back of the truck just next to the staircase and she started addressing the gathering, standing in front of the table.
“At about 5:20 pm, she finished speaking and announced that the procession would start. The gathering for the procession was at zero point. Those who were around the truck took position to move towards zero point.”
She proceeded to decend from the truck. Her vehicle was parked close to the truck — 5-6 feet away. Some photojournalists made an appeal for a snapshot and she obliged.
“Just then, there the first blast went off just between the truck and her vehicle where the ladies were milling for the procession to start. The grenade just missed the truck.”
The Interpol report continued, “She was standing at that time surrounded by Mayor Hanif, Maya Chowdhury, Suranjit Sengupta MP, AH Amu, Sheikh Selim MP, Abdul Jalil MP, Zillur Rahman MP and others.”
“It seems that Hanif was hit by the grenade pellet that saved her [Hasina]. Everyone from the truck bent their knees and heads and her bodyguards pushed her down when in about 2/3 seconds, the second and the third grenades went off. --one was by the side of the truck where the table was placed and another was just behind her vehicle.”
Led by Mamun, Hanif, Maya and Najeeb, the first attempt to decend from the truck began. Then there were few more blasts and they stopped with their head down momentarily on the mouth of the stairs. One grenade went off on the other side of the truck and another near the AL office, at a spot equidistant from the truck and the bulletproof vehicle.
“Quickly the next move was made because Shoaib noticed that the fuel tank of the truck was hit and oil was leaking from it. Mamun led her to the staircase and Shoaib took charge of the situation as she came down.”
Guarded by a human shield, she entered the vehicle and took her seat (the front seat near the driver). General Siddique was standing by the vehicle and Shoaib and Mamun got into the vehicle with her.
Others who managed to get into the vehicle were Najeeb and Maya who were part of the shield.
“While the door of the vehicle was opened for her, it seems that a couple of grenade pellets found their way into it. The tyre of the vehicle was possibly hit by pellets from the third grenade,” Interpol found.
“There were some shootings around the vehicle, more than ten rounds perhaps,” it said.
No car, except a SB pick-up driven by one of her personal attendants named Jahangir could join Sheikh Hasina’s Mercedes Benz on the way to escape the spot to Sudha Sadan, the report said.
“At Sudha Sadan once Hasina was safe, the companions noticed bloodstains on clothes of each other and discovered that all of them have been injured in different degrees by the grenade pellets.”
The report said with noise of shooting all around, it was difficult for the witnesses to make a correct estimate how many grenades were thrown. Most people could count the first three.
The first three went off perhaps in 3/5 seconds. With a gap of possible few more seconds, the next three went off also within 3/5 seconds. One blast came with a little gap and was at a distance from the centre of the crowd. This was perhaps to facilitate the flight of the miscreants.
“It was the general perception that all the grenades were thrown from some nearby rooftops. Some security personal were also pointing upwards with their guns,” the Interpol report said.
