Thirteen years have passed since the Baniarchar Catholic Church bomb attack claimed the lives of 10 people and injured 20 others, but the Criminal Investigation Department has yet to file a charge sheet in the case.
The family members of the victims of the bomb attack – which took place in the church at Muksudpur upazila in Gopalganj on June 3, 2001 – have expressed their frustration and uncertainty about the fate of the case.
The two people suspected to have carried the bomb – Muktakin and Mursalin – are reportedly behind bars in Delhi Jail, with a year left to serve for possessing marijuana. Investigation officers said the charge sheet of the case will be filed with the court after the two men are brought back to the country and if their involvement is proved.
Earlier, Harkatul Jihad chief Mufti Abdul Hannan and other arrested extremists were placed under remand in the case, but the CID was unable to solve the case.
So far, 14 investigation officers have been put in charge of the case since the church’s priest Father Mimmo Pietanzo filed two cases in this regard.
Anna Haldar, mother of bomb victim Sumon Haldar, said they were uncertain whether justice would ever be served, as it has been 13 years and the trial for the attack has yet to begin. She also urged authorities concerned to repatriate the two suspects from India with the help of Interpol.
Akhtaruzzaman, the officer-in-charge of Gopalganj CID and also the investigation officer, said Mufti Hannan and other arrested have not confessed during their remand. Muktakin and Mursalin still have one year left in their ten year jail sentences in India, Akhtar said, adding that filing the charge sheet will be possible if the two men confess to the crime after being brought back to the country.
Meanwhile, Baniarchar residents observed the 13th anniversary of the attack yesterday by holding memorial programmes, placing wreaths at the victims’ graves and distributing food among the poor.
