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Published : 21 Jan 2019, 01:19 PM
The High Court bench of Justice Sheikh Abdul Awal and Justice Bhishmadev Chakrabortty accepted the appeal petitions of former IGPs Shahudul Haque and Ashraful Huda on Monday and their petitions for bail.
Lawyers Arshadur Rauf and Jamilur Rahman represented the defendants at the hearing. Assistant Attorney General Md Ali Zinnah represented the state.
After the hearing, lawyer Jamilur Rahman told the media:
“The court has accepted their appeals and granted them bail. They are currently at Kashimpur Prison. There are no legal barriers to their release on bail.
Assistant Attorney General Md Ali Zinnah told bdnews24.com that Shahudul Haque and Ashraful Huda had already served 14 months of their two-year sentence.
The court has accepted their bail petition for this reason, he said, but the decision would be challenged at the Appellate Division.
The 2004 grenade attack on an Awami League rally killed 24 people and injured another 500.
Nineteen people, including former minister of state Lutfozzaman Babar was sentenced to death, while Tarique Rahman, son of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, was handed life in prison along with 18 others by a Dhaka court on Oct 10.
The brazen attack targeted Sheikh Hasina, who was the opposition leader at the time and now the prime minister of Bangladesh. She survived with a partial hearing loss.
A series of grenades exploded as she was stepping off a truck, which was used as a dais for an anti-terrorism rally on Bangabandhu Avenue.
Prosecutors alleged that the then top leaders of the BNP-Jamaat alliance backed the attack purportedly carried out by militant group Harkat-ul Jihad-al-Islam or HuJI to render the Awami League leaderless by killing its chief Hasina.
Former deputy minister for education Abdus Salam Pintu was also handed the death penalty while BNP chief Khaleda's former political secretary Harris Chowdhury was sentenced to life in prison.
Eleven government officials accused in the case received different jail terms.
In his verdict on the 2004 grenade attack, Judge Shahed Nuruddin of Dhaka’s Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 said a conspiracy was under way to obliterate the Awami League, the main opposition party at the time.
“It was not merely an attack. It was a disgraceful attempt to make the then opposition party leaderless,” he said.
The charges against the 38 who got death or life sentences in the grenade attack cases include criminal conspiracy to kill, financing, advising and abetting in the killings by providing explosives.
The 11 government officials were charged with harbouring the accused and destroying evidence.
Death sentences were granted to former State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfozzaman Babar, former Deputy Minister Abdus Salam Pintu, Hanif Enterprise owner M Hanif, former Director General of NSI Abdur Rahim, NSI's former Director General Rezzakul Haider Chowdhury, Pintu's brother Harkatul Jihad leader Maulana Tajuddin, Abdul Malek alias Golam Mohammad, Sheikh Abdus Salam, Kashmiri citizen Abdul Majid Bhat, Maulana Shawkat Osman alias Sheikh Farid, Mufti Hannan's brother Mohibullah Mafizur Rahman, Maulana Abu Sayeed, Abul Kalam Azad alias Bulbul, Md Jahangir Alam, Maulana Abu Taher, Hossain Ahmed Tamim, Mainuddin Sheikh alias Abu Jandal, Md Rafiqul Islam, Md Ujjal alias Ratan.
Haque and Huda were sentenced to jail for two years alongside Khaleda's nephew retired Lieutenant Commander Saiful Islam Duke, former DGFI Director ATM Amin Ahmed and Lieutenant Colonel (sacked) Saiful Islam Joardar, former Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Mohammad Obaidur Rahman and Deputy Commissioner (South) Khan Syed Hasan.
Former IGP Khuda Baksh Chowdhory, Special Police Superintendent Ruhul Amin, senior ASP Munshi Atiqur Rahman and ASP Abdur Rashid of CID received three years in hail each.
Twenty-three of the accused had already been in jail and the tribunal ordered eight others into prison cancelling their bail after the hearing of arguments ended on Sept 18.
Bangladesh Mohila Awami League President Ivy Rahman and Dhaka Mayor Maomhammad Hanif were among those killed in the attack.
