Online Desk  :   The High Court has scheduled Sunday for delivering its verdict on the appeal and death reference in the highly anticipated August 21 grenade attack case. The case is listed as item number 54 on the agenda for tomorrow’s session, with the High Court bench, led by Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain, set to deliver its verdict. This information was confirmed through the agenda posted on the court’s official website. The death reference and appeal hearing in the case were concluded on November 21, at which point the court placed the matter on CAV (case awaiting verdict). The hearing had commenced in the High Court on October 31.

On October 10, 2018, the trial court sentenced 19 individuals, including former State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfuzzaman Babar and BNP leader Abdus Salam Pintu, to death in connection with the August 21 grenade attack case. Additionally, 19 others, including BNP Senior Vice Chairman (and current acting chairman) Tarique Rahman, received life sentences, while 11 defendants were given various terms of imprisonment. The verdict was submitted to the High Court’s Death Reference Branch on November 27 of the same year, along with the necessary documents. The imprisoned defendants also filed appeals. The appeal hearing officially began in December 2022 under a bench led by Justice Shahidul Karim, but the bench was later reconstituted, requiring the hearing to resume with a new bench.

Deputy Attorney General Md. Jasim Sarkar represented the state in court, while senior lawyer SM Shahjahan and lawyer Mohammad Shishir Monir appeared on behalf of the accused. Following the conclusion of the case hearing on November 21, lawyer SM Shahjahan spoke to reporters, stating, “There is no evidence against Tarique Rahman. No direct involvement of him was found anywhere in the 10, 12-page paper book of this case. The court has accepted this. The court said they will look into it.” He further stated, “We are optimistic that since there is no evidence against Tarique Rahman, he will receive benefits.”

On August 21, 2004, a devastating grenade attack targeted an Awami League rally on Bangabandhu Avenue, where Awami League President and then-opposition leader Sheikh Hasina narrowly escaped the attack. Tragically, 24 people, including Awami League Women’s Affairs Secretary and the wife of late former President Zillur Rahman, Ivy Rahman lost their lives. More than 300 party leaders and workers were injured in the assault. The following day, Motijheel Police Station Sub-Inspector Faruk Ahmed filed a case as the plaintiff.

Following the investigation, a charge sheet was filed on June 11, 2008, during the former caretaker government, naming 22 individuals, including BNP leader Abdus Salam Pintu, his brother Maulana Tajuddin, and HuJI leader Mufti Abdul Hannan, as accused. After the Awami League government assumed power in 2009, the court, at the state’s request, ordered a further investigation. Two years later, on July 3, 2011, a supplementary charge sheet was filed, bringing the total number of accused to 52.