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Published : 25 Jun 2026, 04:09 PM
A court has sentenced one person to death in the attempted murder case of former minister and Awami League leader Suranjit Sengupta, while acquitting all other suspects, including a minister, a whip and a member of parliament.
Sylhet Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal judge Swapan Kumar Sarkar delivered the verdict on Thursday afternoon, confirmed state counsel Md Abul Hossain.
Those acquitted include Expatriate Welfare Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury, ruling party whip GK Gouse and MP Lutfozzaman Babar.
He said the suspects, including Ariful, Babar and Gouse, appeared in court in the morning and were cleared after the tribunal found the charges against them unproven.
Others acquitted are Muhib Ullah alias Mofizur Rahman alias Mofiz alias Abhi, Mufti Moin Uddin alias Abu Jandal alias Masum Billah alias Khaza, Md Abdul Majed Bhat alias Yusuf Bhat, Md Nazrur Rahman Nazu alias Nazmul Haque Nazu alias Nazimul Haque, and Maulana Tajuddin.
Of them, Tajuddin remains absconding, while another acquitted suspect, Abdus Salam, has died.
Defence lawyer Borhan Uddin said charges had originally been framed against 13 people.
Three were earlier sentenced to death in separate cases, leaving 10 in the current proceedings.
He said only Hafiz Syed Naim Ahmed Arif, also known as Nimu, was found guilty under three charges, with the court later awarding him the death penalty under section 302.
The case stems from a grenade attack on Jun 21, 2004 at a political rally in Derai Bazar in Sunamganj, where Suranjit was addressing supporters.
The veteran politician survived the attack, but a Jubo League activist was killed and 29 others were injured.
Following the incident, then Derai Police Sub-Inspector Helal Uddin filed two cases against unidentified suspects -- one over attempted murder through the grenade attack and another under the Explosives Act.
On Oct 22, 2020, the court framed charges against 10 people, including Babar, the then Sylhet city mayor Ariful and former Habiganj municipality mayor Gouse.
A total of 123 witnesses were listed in the case, with 67 eventually testifying before the court.
Speaking after the verdict, Ariful said he and the others had long suffered under what he described as a “false and politically motivated” case.
Gouse said he and Ariful had spent 26 and a half months in different prisons and called the verdict proof that the court had acted independently based on evidence.
Babar said justice had prevailed after a long wait, alleging he had earlier faced pressure in other grenade cases to give false testimony against former prime minister Khaleda Zia and BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman.
