City Desk :
Bangladesh’s history recorded the August 21, 2004 grenade attack on incumbent Prime Minister and the then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina as one of the most gruesome incidents, killing 24 people and wounding 500 others visibly to change the country’s political course.
Sheikh Hasina, who was assailants’ key-target, narrowly escaped the attack at the carnage scene at Bangabandhu Avenue where the killers exploded 8 arges grenades, though several unexploded ones were found later near the scene.
Subsequent investigation and legal procedures unveiled two former army and air force officers, Major (Retd) Shoaib Md Tarikullah and Squadron Leader (Retd) Abdullah Al Mamun, both former agents of elite Special Security Force (SSF) with specialized training on protection, whisked her away from the scene.
According to the case records and investigation documents, some 45 seconds starting from 5.18 pm were the moments when the attack was carried out while Sheikh Hasina and senior party leaders along with the two ex-officers were on a truck, which was used as the makeshift stage for the rally, reports BSS.
The following is the brief description of the moments, recaptured as the crucial 45 seconds, in the investigation process.
5.18 pm – Sheikh Hasina completes her speech as the chair of the rally and prepares to leave the truck.
The first grenade thrown by assailants explodes, exposing everyone on the truck and around to a state of wilderness.
The leaders try to take cover virtually making a human shield around Sheikh Hasina on the front side of the truck.
The second grenade attack forces all on the truck to sit down. Mamun virtually drags Sheikh Hasina under a small table kept on the truck and keeps her down using his body weight and knees.
