In the August 21 grenade attack case, Tarique Rahman, Lutfozzaman Babar, and all other accused have been acquitted
The High Court has delivered its verdict on the appeal in the widely discussed August 21 grenade attack case, acquitting BNP's Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, former State Minister for Home Lutfozzaman Babar, and all other accused.
The verdict was announced shortly before 11 a.m. on Sunday, December 1, by a bench comprising Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayetur Rahim. The court acquitted all the accused.
The hearing on the appeal and death reference in this case concluded on November 21. Earlier, on October 10, 2018, the trial court sentenced Lutfozzaman Babar, BNP leader Abdus Salam Pintu, and 17 others to death. Tarique Rahman and 18 others were sentenced to life imprisonment.
Defense lawyers had expressed optimism that all accused, alleged to have been implicated for political reasons, would be acquitted. The grenade attack on August 21, 2004, targeted an Awami League rally at Bangabandhu Avenue, killing 24 people and injuring at least 400 others.
Two cases, one under the murder act and the other under the Explosive Substances Act, were filed at the Motijheel Police Station following the attack. In 2007, the caretaker government reopened investigations into the cases. In 2008, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) filed a chargesheet naming 22 accused, alleging that militants carried out the attack to assassinate Sheikh Hasina and cripple the Awami League leadership. Later, during the Awami League government's tenure, further investigations were conducted, and Tarique Rahman and 30 others were included in a supplementary chargesheet.
Senior lawyer SM Shahjahan argued during the hearings that the second chargesheet, naming Tarique Rahman and others, was not legally valid because it was filed directly with the judge's court instead of a magistrate's court as required by criminal procedure. He cited legal precedents from South Asia that if no allegations against an accused are substantiated during the investigation or trial, they can be acquitted, even if they did not personally file an appeal.
Defense lawyer Mohammad Shishir Monir contended that the supplementary investigation, based on a second confessional statement by Mufti Hannan, lacked legal basis. He argued that punishments were politically motivated and that confessions were extracted through coercion. Considering these aspects, he sought the acquittal of the accused.
more: High Court Set to Deliver Verdict in Bangladesh’s Aug 21 Grenade Attack Case
