Charges were pressed on Sunday against 30 more people, including the BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia's eldest son Tarique Rahman, the detained Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar, former prime minister's political adviser Haris Chowdhury, current BNP lawmaker Shah Mofazzal Hossain Kaikobad, four retired army officers and eight former police officers, in two cases of the grenade attack on an Awami League rally on August 21, 2004.
The Criminal Investiga-tion Department submitted two supplementary charge sheets to the Dhaka chief metropolitan magistrate's court after reinvestigation for three months of the attack in killed 24 people, including Mahila Awami League president Ivy Rahman, and wounded scores, including Awami League president Sheikh Hasina, now the prime minister.
The investigation officer, Abdul Kahhar Akand, a special superintendent of the CID, pressed charges against Tarique, also the BNP's senior vice-chairman, Mojaheed, also a former social welfare minister, Babar, Haris and Kaikobad.
He also pressed charges against former Directorate General of Forces Intelligence director general retired major general ATM Amin, former National Security Intelligence directors general retired major general Rezzakul Haider Chowdhury and retired brigadier general Abdur Rahim, former navy official retired lieutenant commander Saiful Islam Duke, also Khaleda's nephew, and former DGFI official retired lieutenant colonel Saiful Islam Joarder.
Charges were also pressed against former inspectors general of police M Asharaful Huda, Shahidul Haque and Khodabaksh Chowdhury, who was then additional inspector general of the CID, former Dhaka metropolitan police deputy commissioners Khan Sayeed Hasan and Obaidur Rahman, former investigation officers of the cases special superintendent of the CID Md Ruhul Amin and assistant superintendents Abdur Rashid and Munshi Atiqur Rahman.
The investigation officer also pressed charges against Dhaka city ward commissioner Md Ariful Islam, transport owner Md Hanif, and individuals allegedly having militant links Sheikh Abdus Salam, Md Abdul Majed Butt (also known as Md Yusuf Butt), also a Pakistani, Abdul Malek (also known as Golam Mohammad), Abdur Rauf (also known as Abu Omar Abu Hussain or Peer Saheb Baba), Sabbir Ahmed (also known as Abdul Hannan Sabbir), Shawkat Osman (also known as Sheikh Farid), Hafez Yahia, Mufti Shafiqur Rahman, Mufti Abdul Hai and Ratul Babu.
Metropolitan public prosecutor Abdullah Abu told reporters that the attack had been masterminded at Hawa Bhaban, office of Tarique of the time, and Tarique and others related with the office masterminded it.
Tarique also provided the attackers with administrative supports, he claimed.
Of the new accused, Babar, Mojaheed, Rezzakul, Rahim, Duke, Majed Butt, Malek, Sabbir and Shawkat are in jail while Ariful is on bail and the rest 18 are yet to be arrested.
Chief metropolitan magistrate AKM Enamul Haque issued warrants for the arrests of the 18, including Tarique and Kaikobad.
Former investigation officers Rashid, Atiqur and Ruhul Amin are, however, on bail in a case filed by the CID accusing them of diverting the investigations of the cases.
Earlier on June 26, the CID pressed charges against Babar, Rezzakul and Rahim in two cases of the sensational 10-truck arms haul in Chittagong.
The charges were pressed in the grenade attack cases against the 30 in both the cases — one for murder and another under the Explosive Substances Act — in addition to the 22 people against whom charges were pressed earlier in the cases.
The CID on June 11, 2008, during the military-controlled interim regime, submitted two charge sheets to the CMM court pressing charges against 22 people, including former BNP deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu, his two brothers Maulana Tajuddin and Maulana Liton and Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami operations commander Mufti Abdul Hannan, in the cases.
After the assumption of office by the AL-led alliance on January 6, 2009, the cases took a new turn as the Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal, after recording depositions of 61prosecution witnesses, ordered further investigation of the cases on August 3, 2009.
The court passed the order after hearing a petition filed on June 25, 2009 by the prosecution seeking further investigations saying that the earlier investigations had failed to identify the masterminds and the source of the grenades used in the attack and had not explained explain the status of the grenades seized at the spot.
The trial of the grenade attack case under the Explosive Substances Act began on October 29, 2008 with the court framing charges against 22 people, including former BNP deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu.
On August 13, 2009, the CID started the reinvestigations with special police superintendent Abdul Kahhar Akand as head of the investigation team.
With the new 30, the number of accused people stood at 52 in both the cases.
The supplementary charge sheet named 83 people as prosecution witnesses in addition to the 408 named in the original charge sheet.
Police subinspector Faruk Hossain and Awami League leaders Abdul Jalil and Saber Hossain Chowdhury filed three first information reports with the Motijheel police regarding the grenade attack on the Awami League.
The CID took charge of the grenade attack case investigation on August 23, 2004, two days after the attack.
The CID appointed assistant superintendent Abdur Rashid the investigation officer and special superintendent Ruhul Amin was made the supervisor.
Rashid arrested 20 people and allegedly forced George Miah, Abul Hasem Rana and Shafiqul Islam to admit to his guilt in the presence of magistrates under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code on June 26, December 12 and December 17 in 2005.
After Rashid's retirement, Munshi Atiqur Rahman was appointed investigation officer of the cases on December 24, 2005.
In the meantime, the CID had arrested Mufti Hannan in connection with the Ramna Batamul blast case. He is also accused in several other cases filed in connection with militancy.
During CID interrogation, Hannan reportedly admitted being involved in the grenade attack and named 27 others, including Abdus Salam Pintu, who were directly and indirectly involved in the planning and execution of the attack.
Allegations have it that through multiple investigations, the BNP-led alliance government tried to establish that the Awami League was involved in the attack and to prove that 'foreign enemies' instigated the carnage.
Eleven days after the attack, the then prime minister Khaleda Zia blamed the Awami League for the attack.
The judicial inquiry commission of Justice Joynul Abedin, set up to investigate the attack, had also said in its report that foreign agencies might have masterminded the attack.
The government had then asked for help from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and Interpol but their findings had never been made public.
The CID on on March 29, 2010 sued former investigation officers Rashid, Atiqur and Ruhul Amin on charges of deflecting the investigation in a wrong direction by forcing some people to make false statements and concealing evidence to protect the culprits.
Source : New Age
