Court Correspondent :
The submission of the arguments in the case filed for the explosion of bombs at a rally of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) could not be held again on Wednesday while the Judge-in-Charge Jesmin Ara of the Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 of Dhaka fixed May 17 as the new date for submission of arguments in the case.
Earlier, on April 10, Judge Abu Zafar Md Kamruzzaman of the Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 fixed April 20 for placing of arguments in the case.
On the same date, accused Arif Hasan alias Suman’s lawyer Mizanur Rahman expressed no confidence in the court on behalf of his client.
Of the 84 witnesses of the case 54 testified. On April 3, the seven accused were brought to the court from the jail and they claimed themselves not guilty in the case.
Five people were killed and 20 others injured in the bomb attack on the CPB rally held in the capital’s Palton Maidan on January 20, 2001.
Then CPB President Manzurul Ahsan Khan filed the case with Motijheel Police Station, while the police had given the final report in 2003, saying it did not find any credible evidence in the case.
Later, Police in 2005, reopened the case and on November 27, 2013, the Criminal Investigation Depart (CID) Inspector Mrinal Kanti Saha submitted two charge-sheets to the CMM Court of Dhaka against 13 activists of the banned extremist outfit Harkat-Ul-Jihad Al-Islami in the cases filed over murder and explosives explosions. Later, the court framed charges in the two cases on September 4, 2014.
Of the two cases, one was filed for killing five persons and injuring 50 others while the other was filed under the Explosive Substances Act.
The verdict of the murder case was declared on June 23, 2014. In the verdict eight persons including banned militant outfit Harkatul Jihad top leader Mufti Abdul Hannan were sentenced to death and six others were sentenced to life term imprisonment. Meanwhile, the death sentence of Mufti Hannan was already implemented in other case. Of the convicts four including Maulana Tajuddin, a brother of former Deputy Minister Abdus Salam Pintu are still on the run.
According to the charge sheet, the accused allegedly carried out the attack on the pretext that the CPB elements were “atheists”.
