Court Correspondent :
A Dhaka court on Tuesday awarded death to 14 militants who attempted to kill Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina by a bomb at Kotalipara in Gopalganj two decades ago.
Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 of Dhaka, Judge Abu Zafar Md Kamruzzaman delivered the verdict yesterday.
UNB/BSS adds: The deliberations in the case ended on 11 March. In the hearing, the prosecution demanded death penalty for all the 14 accused. The court fixed Tuesday for delivering the verdict.
The 14 convicts are Mofizur Rahman, Mahmud Azhar, Rasheduzzaman, Tareq, Wadud Sheikh alias Gazi Khan, Azizul Haque, Lokman, Yusuf alias Moshab Moral, Moshab Hasan alias Rashu, Sheikh Md Enamul Haque, Anisul Islam, Sarwar Hossain, Amirul Islam and Rafiqul Islam Khan.
The accused were produced in court from the jail on Tuesday. Strict security measures were taken in and around the court building. A total of three cases were filed. Judgments in two of the cases were already completed in the court on Tuesday, the verdict of the remaining case was announced.
On July 22, 2000, a powerful bomb was found under the surface of the Sheikh Lutfar Rahman Government Adarsha College in Kotalipara of Gopalganj district ahead of Sheikh Hasina’s public meeting there.
An army team recovered the 76kg bomb. On the following day, on 23 July, another 40kg bomb was recovered.
Of the 50 prosecution witnesses, the court recorded the depositions of 34.
The then Sub-Inspector Nur Hossain of Kotalipara Police Station filed the case under the Explosives Substances Act while on November 15, 2001, CID’s former ASP Abdul Kahar Akand submitted the charge sheet of the case to the court.
Later, on November 21, 2004, the court framed charges against the accused.
