Dhaka court sentences 10 to death over 2001 attack on CPB rally

A Dhaka court has sentenced 10 Harkat-ul Jihad activists to death over a bomb attack on a rally of Communist Party of Bangladesh that killed five people in 2001.

Rabiul Alam, the third additional metropolitan sessions court judge of Dhaka, passed the order on Monday. Two suspects named in the case have been acquitted.

Harkat-ul Jihad top gun Mufti Abdul Hannan was also accused in the case. His name was later dropped from the charge-sheet after he was executed in another case.
 
Mufti Mainuddin Sheikh, Arif Hasan Suman, Sabbir Ahmed and Shawkat Osman alias Sheikh Farid were present in court when the judge handed down the verdict.
 
Jahangir Alam Badar, Mohibul Muttakin, Aminul Mursalin, Mufti Abdul Hai, Mufti Shafiqur Rahman and Nur Islam are absconding.
 
The court has also imposed a fine of Tk 20,000 on each of the 10 activists.
 
Md Moshiur Rahman and Rafiqul Alam Miraj have been acquitted of the charges.

On Jan 20, 2001, a grenade attack on a CPB rally at Dhaka's Paltan Maidan had killed four people on the spot, while another died in hospital.
 
The incident prompted two cases - one concerning the killings and another under the Explosives Act.
 
Two years after the attack, police's Crime Investigation Department, or CID, had submitted a final report on Dec 17, 2003 accusing none.
 
On Jan 27, 2005, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate asked the authorities to re-investigate the matter following a petition for fresh probe into the cases.
 
Investigating Officer CID Inspector Mrinal Kanti Saha submitted the charge-sheet on Nov 27, 2013 accusing 13 of being involved.