Court Correspondent :
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court yesterday upheld the death sentence of three Harkatul Jihad Al Islami (Huji) elements including the banned militant outfit’s Chief Mufti Abdul Hannan, in a case filed for the grenade attack on former British High Commissioner in Bangladesh, Anwar Choudhury in 2004.
A three-member bench of the Appellate Division led by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha passed the order, dismissing the review petition of Mufti Hannan. Earlier, on last December 7, the Supreme Court upheld the death penalty of the three militants.
On February 11, last year, a High Court (HC) Division bench, comprising Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Amir Hossain, delivered the verdict upholding the death sentence of three accused — Mufti Abdul Hannan, Sharif Shahedul Alam and Delwar Hossain. Besides, two others, Mufti Hannan’s brother Mohibullah and Mufti Moinuddin were sentenced to life-term imprisonment by a sub-ordinate court.
On May 21, 2004, Anwar Choudhury and 51 others were injured, while other three, including two police officials, were killed in a grenade attack at Hazrat Shahjalal (RA) shrine in Sylhet.
Later, two cases- one for murder and the other was filed under the Explosive Substances Act in connection with the grenade attack. After investigation, charges were framed against four people, including Mufti Hannan on July 31, in 2007.
The Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal of Sylhet on December 23, 2008, awarded death sentence to HujI leaders Hannan, Sharif Shahedul Alam Bipul and Delwar Hossain Ripon, while Hannan’s brothers Mufti Muhibur Rahman and Mufti Mainuddin were awarded life term imprisonment and also fined them Tk 10,000 each in the case.
