HC releases full text of Kotalipara bomb planting case judgement

Publish: 5:43 PM, August 9, 2021 | Update: 5:43 PM, August 9, 2021

DHAKA,  – The High Court (HC) today released full text of its judgement that upheld death sentence for10 people, convicted by the lower court concerned in a case lodged over an attempt to murder Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Kotalipara, Gopalganj, in 2000.

The High Court released the full text of the 86-page judgement after signing by the two presiding judges of the concerned bench and uploaded it on its website.

A High Court division virtual bench of Justice Jahangir Hossain and Justice Md Badruzzaman pronounced the judgement, dismissing jail appeals filed by the convicts, on February 17 this year.

The 10 death-row-convicts are- Wasim Akter alias Tarek alias Marfot Ali, Rashed Driver alias Abul Kalam alias Rasheduzzaman alias Shimon Khan, Eusuf alias Mosahab Morol alias Abu Musa Harun, Sheikh Farid alias Mawlana alias Shawkat Osman, Hafez Jahangir Alam Badar, Mawlana Abubakkar alias Hafez Selim Hawlader, Hafez Mowlana Eahia, Mufti Shafikur Rahman, Mufti Abdul Hai and Moulana Abdur Roub alias Mufti Abdul Roub alias Abdul Razzak alias Abu Omor.

All of them are leaders and activists of banned militant outfit Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (Huji).

Dhaka 2nd Speedy Trial Tribunal on August 20, 2017, sentenced 10 persons to death and four others to different terms of imprisonment.

The lower court had examined 68 witnesses out of the total 83.

According to the case documents, army men recovered a 76-kg powerful bomb on July 20, 2000, from the premises of Sheikh Lutfor Rahman Government Ideal College when a podium was being made for the Prime Minister’s rally.

Another powerful bomb was recovered in the area the very next day. Then Kotalipara Police Station sub-inspector Nur Hossain filed a case in this regard on that day.

Later the case was transferred to the Dhaka court.

Mufti Hannan has already been executed on April 12, 2017, for a 2004 grenade attack at Hazrat Shahjalal (RA) shrine in Sylhet. His name was dropped from Prime Minister murder attempt case.