The prosecution at the August 21, 2004, grenade attack case on Monday concluded its arguments, seeking maximum punishment for the accused in the trial.
Chief prosecutor Syed Rezaur Rahman placed arguments on legal point, saying the state has successfully proved the case beyond any reasonable doubt.
“For the sake of justice and to meet the expectation of the justice seekers, we are pleading for maximum punishment for the accused,” he said. The senior jurist in his arguments on Monday referred different sensational cases including Bangabandhu murder trial, Judge Jagannath Pare murder trial, British envoy Anwar Chowdhury murder attempt trial and Rajiv Gandhi murder trial of India.
“The main aim of that barbaric attack was to eliminate the top leadership of Awami League including its president Sheikh Hasina and create a vacuum among the force in support of war of liberation and independence,” Rahman added.
The chief prosecutor further said another aim of the attackers was to unimpeded the activities of militant outfits like HuJI, Hijb-ul Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Taiaba, Tehrik-e Jihad-e Islam and Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) in the country.
Judge Shahed Nur Uddin of Dhaka 1st Speedy Trial Tribunal adjourned the hearing of the case today, asking the defence to start placing arguments from the morning.
The prosecution on December 27, 2017, concluded its arguments on facts. The prosecution in their earlier arguments had said a total of five local and foreign militant outfits were involved in the barbaric attack, killing 24 leaders and activists of Bangladesh Awami League. “Apart from these groups, Pakistan intelligence agency ISI and then BNP-Jamaat alliance government orchestrated the attack. The then government used Ministry of Home Affairs, DGFI, NSI and Bangladesh Police in executing the conspiracy,” he added.
A total of 24 AL leaders and workers including the then Mohila Awami League President and wife of late President Zillur Rahman, Ivy Rahman, were killed and 500 others were injured.
