Barbaric Grenade Attack of 21st August

Barbaric Grenade Attack of 21st August is an article by Dr.Md. Fazlur Rahman and it is the author’s own opinion and point of view. This has nothing to do with the editorial policy or the opinion of the editorial body of Eurobangla Times.   

3rd episode 

 Dr. Md. Fazlur Rahman:(31) It is to be mentionable here that, after the commencement of gruesome grenade attack a large number of members of parliament those who have injured seriously in that attack have repeatedly tried their best to discuss the entire occurrence and incident in the parliament. Side by side they have also ardently prayed to adopt a condemnation proposalin the parliament. But it is a matter of great regret that the then speaker of the parliament Barrister Mr. Jamiruddin Sirkar did not give the chance and opportunity to them to raise the above stated highly sensational and extremely brutal incident of grenade attack in the parliament.

(32) Therefore, it is no doubt that by expressing the above mentioned pre-conceived attitude and non-cooperative mentality, the then speaker had created a bad precedent in the parliament. The exact reason behind it is considered as very much doubtful and mysterious.This is whyit is obvious that for the cause of non-cooperation of the then ruling party (BNP) followed by the partisan role of the speaker no discussion was held in the parliament about the issue of horrible grenade attack. So, any kind ofcondemnation proposal was not taken. The above cited factual matters and affairs are treated as very much disgraceful and shameful for the country as well as for the nation.

(33) It is also very much painful and agonising that,near about 10 MPs (Member of Parliament) were seriously wounded in the above stated grenade attack. All of them have earnestly requested the house with one voice to make a ‘Parliamentary Committee’ to probe the barbaric incident of grenade attack. But the honourable speaker of the parliament has also rejected their fervent request indeed. At the time of rejecting the same he has made the comment that- “The honourable members of the parliament (MPs) are not the expert about bombs and grenades. So, I do not find any cogent ground or suitable reason to make such a committee to prove that grenade attack.”Thereforeit is presumed that having been biased and influenced by the highly motivated partisan role and single-eyed mentalityof the party he belongs to the then speaker Jamiruddin Sirkarhas created the above noted condemnable, indecent and unpleasant example in the history of the parliament.

(34) In respecting the terrible grenade attack another darkest chapter is that the then BNP-Jamaat government has tried their best to divert and to frustrate the entire investigation in an alternative path with the help of police and other law enforcing agencies. In this respect they have assigned CID to deal with the cases. Afterwards having been guided and instructed by the higher authority the investigating agencies have made a cooked-up storyof Joj Miah fully out of ulterior motive and malafide intention. Joj Miah reportedly forced to give an inculpatory statement before the learned first class Magistrate u/s 164 of the Cr. PCconfessing to his involvement in the attack. Later on there had been no progress in the investigation during the BNP-Jamaat rule.

(35) Henceafter the investigation about the grenade attack took a new dimension after the military backed caretaker government took over following 1/11 political changeover in 2007. In their tenure the then senior ASP of CID Md. Fazlul Kabir had submitted two charge sheetsin the aforesaid two separate cases to the contrary of 22 accused on 11th June 2008 including BNP leader and former deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu andHuji chief Mufti Abdul Hannan. Later onthe learned court has framed the charges on 29th October 2008 to the contrary of the above stated 22 accused.

(36) At a later time the court has ordered further investigation on 12th August, 2009 in pursuance of the prosecution’s plea. As a result, having been ordered and directed by the learned court, the new investigating officer and Special Superintendent of Police of the CID Abdul Kahar Akand on 3rd July, 2011 had submitted two separate supplementary charge sheets-one for murder and another under Explosive Substance Act by implicating another 30 accused including the then Senior Joint Secretary of BNP Tarique Rahman, the then social welfare minister Ali Ahsan Md. Muzahid and the then state minister for home affairs LutfuzzamanBabar. Therefore with the above noted 30 people total number of accused stood at 52.

(37) After submitting the above mentioned charge sheets the accused side have challenged the same before the honourable High Court. But they have been defeated in the legal battle there. Henceforth in accordance with the above cited supplementary charge sheets,the court has framed fresh charges against the afore mentioned30 accused including Tarique Rahman on 18th March 2012. The above framed charges have been read over with explanation to the accused side accordingly. But the above stated all the present accused have pleaded themselves innocent and ‘not guilty’ in connection with this case. Side by side they had alsoprayed for fair and impartial justice in this case.

(38) Among the above mentionedcharge sheeted 52 accused as many as 3 (three) of them had been executed earlier in other two separate sensational cases. They are

(39) After the execution of the above noted 3 accused their names have been dropped out from this case as usually. Later on the prosecution side have examined and verified as many as 225 (Two hundred twenty five) witnesses out of charge sheeted 492 witnesses in their favour to prove their case. All the learned lawyers of the present accused as well as the number of learned state defence lawyers for the absconding accused side have also cross examined the afore mentioned all the witnesses of the state elaborately.

(40) Hence after the learned lawyers of the prosecution side as well as the learned number of advocates of the above stated all the accused have undisturbedly and uninterruptedly placed their enormously lengthy arguments for as many as 119 (One hundred and nineteen) days. Among those days the learned advocates for the prosecution side have placed their arguments for 29 days. On the contrary the learned pleaders for the accused side have placed their prolonged and elaborate arguments for 90 days. This is why it is obvious that all the procedural formalities and obligations of this case have been done and performed from the beginning to the end duly and properly.

Verdict that the nation eagerly waited for

(41) At long last the much expected and eagerly awaited judgment of this case have been delivered long after more than 14 years on 10th October 2018 of the grenade attack case. By passing that verdict the learned court has passed the order of death sentence for 19 accused while life long imprisonment for another 19 accused and 11 (eleven) top ranking government officials have also been awarded for different terms of jail along with fine in connection with the afore mentioned cases.

(42) It is undeniable that the hellish grenade attack was one of the deadliest incidents of manslaughter in the country’s history. Obviously physical annihilation of the opposition leader Sheikh Hasina was the prime object of the aforesaid infernal grenade attack. A lot of thanks to the merciful almighty Allah that, Sheikh Hasina somehow escaped the attempt on her life though a large number of her close associates were either killed of grievously injured. Admittedly the unscrupulous grenade attack was a pre-arranged criminal act of the highest degree. This was a fascist attempt of eliminating political opponents.

(43) It is very much tragic and painful that the barbaric assassination of the father of the nation along with his family members, the jail killings and the August 21 grenade attack had been the darkest and deepest scars of the country’s history. Side by side it is also thought provoking that in all such attacks the progressive, pro-liberation and democratic forces had usually been the targets. Sothe peace loving and law abiding nation cannot allow the perpetrators to go unchallenged and unpunished. And for the same reason each and every democratic conscientious and law abiding person should welcome and appreciate the trial and verdicts of the cases.

(44) It is undoubtedly and trustworthily proved that the gruesome grenade attack was a well orchestratedplan executed through abuse of state power along with the help of state machinery. As a resultthe judgment of the above mentioned 2 (two) separate cases have been declared on the previously fixed date accordingly. In pursuance of the above noted judgments the aforesaid all the accused including BNP Senior Vice Chairman Tarique Rahman, former 2 (two) ministers as well as former top rankingpolice and intelligence officials were found guilty in those cases indeed.

(45) This is why the above noted all the accused have been awarded various types of punishment for theirdirect involvement, active participation and whole hearted co-operation in that attack. Among them as many as 19 accused have been convicted and awarded death sentencein each of the aforesaid two cases for the cause of deep rootedconspiracy, approving the plan and executing the attack. They are-

Dr. Md. Fazlur Rahman,Senior District and Sessions Judge (Retired),Writer and Columnist