HC orders action over 2001 hate attacks

The High Court has directed the authorities to act against those involved in the hate attacks across Bangladesh after the 2001 general elections.

Members of the Hindu community and supporters of the Awami League came under a wave of assault after the parliamentary polls which BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami had won.

A judicial investigation committee in its report, filed three years ago, had identified several BNP and Jamaat leaders as having been involved in the attacks.

The accused include BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, former Home Minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury, M Hafizuddin Ahmed, Tariqul Islam, Joynal Abedin alias VP Joynal, Ruhul Quddus Talukder Dulu, Abdul Hafiz, AMH Selim alias Silver Selim, Selim Reza Habib and Jamaat leader Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed.

Salauddin Quader and Mujaheed are both war crimes convicts.

On Thursday, the bench of Justice Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque and Justice ABM Altaf Hossain ordered the authorities to implement its orders and report about the progress by May 11.

The home secretary, inspector general of police and other defendants have been asked to carry out the court orders.

The directive was issued during a hearing on a January ruling on why the investigation report into the 2001 hate attacks should not be released.

Responding to a court query, Deputy Attorney General Biswajit Roy admitted no effective steps had been taken over the post-2001 general elections violence.

He further informed the court that a gazette had been issued on the investigation report and actions would follow.

“This is the first time an investigation report has been published as a gazette,” he later told bdnews24.com.

The gazette was published on Apr 1.

The High Court had ordered constitution of a three-member committee in 2009 to look into the 2001 violence following a petition by the ‘Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh’.

The committee headed by retired district judge Md Shahabuddin -- presently serving as an Anti Corruption Commission commissioner -- was formed on Dec 27, 2009.

The commission in 2011 submitted a 1,100-page report to the home ministry.

As per the commission’s report, 276 incidents of violence took place during that time in Dhaka, 497 in Chittagong, 17 in Sylhet, 478 in Khulna, 170 in Rajshahi and 2,227 in Barisal.

Of these, in Dhaka alone there were 92 incidents of murder and 184 incidents of other serious crimes like rape and arson. Only 52 cases were registered while charge-sheet was filed in 85 cases and final report -- in which police drop charges -- in seven cases.

In Chittagong, there were 97 incidents of murder and 350 incidents of other serious crimes. But only 49 cases were filed while charge-sheet was submitted in 41 cases and final report were given in the remaining eight cases.

In Rajshahi though 53 murders and 117 serious crimes were committed, only 37 cases were registered. In 33 cases, charge-sheet was filed while in other four cases final report was given.

A newspaper article on the 2001 hate attacks

Similarly in Khulna, against 73 murder and 405 incidents of grievous crime, only 44 cases were registered. Charge-sheet was filed in 40 cases while final report was submitted in remaining four cases.

In Barisal, 38 murders and 2189 incidents of heinous crimes were committed, but only 39 cases were registered. Charge-sheet was filed in 35 of them while final report was given in four others.

In Sylhet, no case was filed over the two incidents of murder and 15 serious crimes.

Overall, only 221 cases were registered throughout the country over the spate of hate attacks and charge-sheet was filed in 194 of them.

The court has expressed surprise that only 221 cases were registered out of so many incidents.

The commission had recommended that in those cases where final report was submitted, charge-sheet should be filed after police investigation. Apart from that, it also recommended that there should be scope for appeal or revision.