A Dhaka court yesterday framed charges against 13 activists of banned Islamist outfit Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami (Huji) in a case filed in connection with the 2001 attack on a rally of the Communist Party of Bangladesh in the capital’s Paltan.
Judge KM Imrul Kayes of the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Special Tribunal 4 indicted the 13 under the explosive substances act.
The court also set October 23 for the prosecution witnesses to testify.
Five of the accused, who were present at the court including Mufti Hannan, claimed themselves innocent and sought justice when Additional Public Prosecutor Assaduzzaman Khan read out the charges in front of them.
Of the remaining eight accused, seven have been on the run since the case proceedings began and the other went into hiding after he had been bailed.
The attack on the CPB rally killed eight people and injured over 50. Two cases were filed over the incident - one for killing eight people and the other for blasting bombs which was filed under the Explosive Substances Act.
On August 21, the same court indicted the 13 accused in the killing case.
On November 27 last year, investigating officer Mrinal Kanti Saha submitted the charge sheets before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Dhaka accusing Huji of the attack.
Manzurul Ahsan Khan, then president of the CPB, filed the cases with Motijheel police station, and claimed that a group of anti-state conspirators carried out the attack.
The Criminal Investigation Department submitted a final report on the cases on December 17, 2003, accusing none. The plaintiff, however, was not satisfied with the report.
On January 27, 2005, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate asked the authorities to re-investigate the cases responding to a petition for fresh probe.
Of the 13 accused, Mufti Hannan, Mufti Mainuddin Khaja alias Abu Jandal, Arif Hasan Suman, Maulana Sabbir Hossain and Shawkat Osman are now behind bars.
The eight others are Md Moshiur Rahman, Maulana Abdul Hai, Mufti Shafiqur Rahman, Jahangir Alam Badar, Nurul Islam, Mohibul Muttakim, Anisul Morsalin and Rafiqul Islam Miraj.
Involvement of Huji in the blast surfaced nine and a half years after the attack when Jandal claimed responsibility in a judicial confessional statement.
In his statement, Jandal said the attack made by Huji men killed five people. The three others, including two hawkers, died in another explosion at Bangabandhu Avenue.
