August 21 Grenade Attack: State Appeals Against Acquittals

The state has appealed against the High Court's verdict acquitting Tarique Rahman and all other accused in the sensational August 21 grenade attack case.

The Attorney General's Office confirmed this information on Wednesday (March 19) morning. A hearing on this matter may take place on the same day.

Earlier, on December 1, the High Court bench of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain acquitted Tarique Rahman and all other accused.

On August 21, 2004, a grenade attack was carried out on a rally of the then opposition party Awami League, led by Sheikh Hasina, at Bangabandhu Avenue in the capital. 24 people were killed and more than a hundred leaders and activists were injured in the attack. Opposition leader Sheikh Hasina narrowly escaped the attack. At that time, the BNP-Jamaat alliance government was in power.

A case was filed with Motijheel Police Station regarding the grenade attack incident. The Awami League alleged that the then government made various efforts to divert the investigation of the case. Later, in 2007, the then caretaker government started a fresh investigation into the case.

In 2008, the Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) submitted a charge sheet to the court against 22 people as accused in the case. Later, during the Awami League government, further investigation of this case (murder and explosives) took place. Subsequently, a supplementary charge sheet was filed against Tarique Rahman and 30 others as accused.

On October 10, 2018, Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 delivered the verdict in this case. In the verdict, 19 people, including former State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfozzaman Babar and former Deputy Minister for Education Abdus Salam Pintu, were sentenced to death. Tarique Rahman, acting chairman of BNP, and 19 others were sentenced to life imprisonment. Besides, 11 former army and police personnel were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment and fines. In total, 49 people were convicted.

However, the High Court observed that the verdicts of the trial courts in the cases were illegal because they were given through illegal means.