A Sylhet court yesterday framed charges against Harkatul Jihad al Islami (Huji) operative Abu Zandal in a case filed in connection with the grenade attack on British high commissioner Anwar Choudhury on May 21, 2004.
Additional District and Session’s Judge Ferdous Ahmed framed the charges against the Huji man. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) submitted supplementary charge sheet against him on March 11.
Zandal and other accused were produced before the court yesterday. The judge fixed August 5 for the next court day for the case filed under Explosive Substances Act.
Zandal is the son of Nurul Islam of Alamdanga under Lohagara upazila in Narail. He has been in jail due to cases filed against him in Dhaka. He was arrested months ago and grenades were recovered in his possession.
Inspector Jubayer Ahmed of CID filed the four-page charge sheets with the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court-11 in March accusing Zandal in the two cases filed in connection with the grenade attack on the then British high commissioner at the shrine of Hajrat Shahjalal (RA) in Sylhet.
Jubayer told The Daily Star yesterday that even though charge sheets in the cases were submitted earlier, further investigation was made based on confessional statement of Huji leader Mufti Abdul Hannan, prime accused in the cases.
Jubayer said during CID quizzing, Hannan divulged that Zandal supplied the grenades through Huji operatives Sharif Shahedul Alam Bipul and Delwar Hossain Ripon.
The murder case filed in this connection is under trial in the Sylhet Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal and depositions of 53 prosecution witnesses have already been recorded. In the case filed under Explosive Substances Act, six people have recorded their depositions.
The Bangladesh-born British high commissioner along with 70 others was hurt and three people were killed when grenades exploded at the shrine on May 21, 2004.
Assistant sub-inspector of special branch (SB) of police Kamal Uddin, Habibur Rahman Habib and college student Jubayer Ahmed Rubel were killed.
The district judge of Sylhet on July 12 acquitted 20 accused as their names were dropped from the charge sheet.
CID Senior ASP Munshi Atiqur Rahman on June 9, 2007 filed two charge sheets against Huji chief Mufti Abdul Hannan, his brother Mofizur Rahman and Huji operatives Delwar Hossain Ripon and Sharif Shahedul Alam Bipul.
The CID started further investigations and submitted supplementary charge sheet later.
Categories: Daily Bangladesh News
