A Dhaka court on Tuesday gave the police 15 more days to report on the execution of the warrants it had issued for arrest of Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia’s eldest son Tarique Rahman and 11 others in a case for the grenade attack on an Awami League rally on August 21, 2004.
Dhaka metropolitan sessions judge Mohammad Zahurul Haque on Tuesday asked the officers-in-charge of the police stations concerned to submit the reports by August 11.
The court on July 14 issued the warrants for arrest of the 12, including Tarique, also the BNP senior vice-chairman, former prime minister Khaleda Zia’s political secretary Harris Chowdhury, BNP lawmaker Kazi Shah Mofazzal Hossain Kaikobad, former director general of the Directorate
General of Forces Intelligence retired major general ATM Amin, former DGFI official retired lieutenant colonel Saiful Islam Joarder, former deputy commissioners of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, Khan Sayeed Hasan and Obaidur Rahman, who are now officers on special duty, Hanif transport owner Md Hanif, and four others allegedly having militant links — Abdur Rauf, also known as Omar Abu Humayra or Peer Saheb Baba, Hafez Moulana Yahiya, Babu, also known as Ratul Babu and Mufti Abdul Hai.
On July 3, another court issued warrants for arrest of Tarique and 17 others hours after the submission of supplementary charge sheets in a case filed on charge of killings in the grenade attack.
Three former inspectors general of police and three former investigation officers had already later surrendered to the court and landed in jail.
Thirty-one accused including former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, former BNP deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu, the three former inspectors general of police and three former officials of Criminal Investigation Department were produced in court on Tuesday.
Another accused, Ariful Islam Arif, a Dhaka city ward councillor and now on bail, was also present in the court.
The grenade attack on the Awami League rally on Bangabandhu Avenue on August 21 killed 24 people, including Mahila Awami League president Ivy Rahman, and wounded scores, including Awami League president Sheikh Hasina, now the prime minister.
The Criminal Investigation Department on July 3 submitted the supplementary charge sheets in the two cases pressing charges against Tarique and 29 others.
-With New Age input
