Aug 21 grenade attack: SC upholds acquittal of all

The Supreme Court’s Appellate Division on Thursday upheld a High Court (HC) order that acquitted all convicts, including BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman and former State Minister for Home Affairs Lutforzzman Babar, in the sensational August 21 grenade attack case.

A six-member Appellate Division bench, led by Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed, issued the order.

On December 1 last year, the HC overturned the verdict of a lower court in two cases filed over the August 21 grenade attack, acquitting all convicts, including Tarique Rahman and Babar.

On March 19, the state filed an appeal against the HC verdict in the 21st August grenade attack case.

The SC on July 31 set August 13 to hear the petition filed challenging the HC order.

For the past few days, the court heard the petition and finally set September 4 to deliver the verdict.

The grenade attack, a shocking incident, occurred on Dhaka’s Bangabandhu Avenue on August 21, 2004.

On October 10, 2018, a speedy trial tribunal in Dhaka issued a verdict in one of the cases (pertaining to murder and explosives).

The tribunal sentenced 19 accused, including former state minister for home affairs Lutfozzaman Babar and former deputy education minister Abdus Salam Pintu, to death.

Besides, 19 others, including BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman, were handed life imprisonment sentences, while 11 accused received various terms of imprisonment and fines.

The judgment was subsequently transferred to the HC in 2018, registered as a death reference case.