9 BNP men awarded death penalty for attack on Hasina 25 years ago

A Pabna court has awarded death penalty to nine activists and leaders of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in a case filed for attacking Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the then opposition leader in 1994.

The acting judge of Additional District and Sessions Judge Court-1, Rustam Ali, announced the verdict amid a packed courtroom on Wednesday, about 25 years after the incident.

The court also sentenced 25 accused to life in jail and fined each of them Tk3 lakh. In addition, the court handed 13 others to a 10-year jail term and imposed fine Tk1 lakh on each.

Out of 52 accused in the charge sheet, 33 were present in the dock. Five died during the trial proceedings while 14 others are still in hiding.  

The nine sentenced to death are: Former mayor and president of Ishwardi municipality unit BNP Moklesur Rahman Bablu, Pabna district unit BNP Liberation War Affairs Secretary AKM Aktaruzzaman, Ishwardi municipality unit BNP General Secretary Zakaria Pintu, Ishwardi municipality unit Jubo Dal President Mostofa Nur-e Alam, and BNP leaders Mahbubul Rahman Palash, Shamsul Alam, Shahidul Islam, Rezaul Karim, and Azizur Rahman.

Among them, Zakaria Pintu is on the run.

On September 23, 1994, then opposition leader and current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was travelling from Khulna to Syedpur through Ishwardi for party programs. When the train was entering Ishwardi Railway Junction, it was fired upon and crude bombs hurled at it. 

Nazrul Islam, the then officer-in-charge of Railway Police in Ishwardi, filed a case in this regard. Police submitted charge sheet against the accused in April 1997.

Kamruzzaman