POBNEWS24, Dhaka, Mar 23, 2021:A court has sentenced 14 militants to death for plotting to assassinate Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and sedition by planting a bomb at a public meeting place in Kotalipara, Gopalganj.
Judge Abu Jafar of Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 in this case 21 years ago. Kamruzzaman gave the verdict on Tuesday. The verdict called for the execution of each of the 14 militants in a ‘firing squad’.
Following the verdict, the court said that only by giving exemplary punishment to the accused, it is possible to prevent the recurrence of such atrocities.
The 14 convicts sentenced to death are Mofizur Rahman alias Mahibullah, Anisul Islam alias Anis, Mahmud Azhar, Rasheduzzaman alias Rashed Khan, Sarwar Hossain Mia, Tareq Hossain alias Marfat Ali, Abdul Wadud Mollah, Azizul Haque, Lokman, Yusuf alias Moshab Moral, Sheikh. , Mosaheb Hasan alias Rashu, Amirul Islam and Rafiqul Islam. Five of the accused are fugitives. They are Azizul, Lokman, Yusuf, Enamul and Mosaheb.
All of the accused have been identified as members of the banned militant group Harkatul Jihad al-Islami (HUJI). Nine accused in jail were produced in court during the verdict. The court and its environs were also under tight security following the verdict.
On July 22, 2000, a powerful bomb was found on the premises of Sheikh Lutfar Rahman Government Adarsh College at Kotalipara in Gopalganj while Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was constructing a public meeting pandal. An army team dug the ground and recovered the bomb weighing 6 kg. The next day, on July 23, another bomb weighing 40 kg was recovered.
In this incident, the police filed three cases under Kotalipara Police Station under the Act of Assassination, Conspiracy to Assassination and Explosives Control Act.
The trial court ruled on August 20, 2016 in the case of attempted murder and explosives control act. The verdict sentenced 10 militants to death and 13 to various terms of imprisonment. An appeal has also been passed in the attempted murder case. The High Court upheld the death sentence of 10 militants in a verdict announced on February 18. One convict sentenced to life imprisonment and two convicts sentenced to 14 years have also been upheld. Another convict sentenced to 14 years has been acquitted by the high court.
On the other hand, the Crime and Investigation Department (CID) of the police filed a chargesheet in the court on November 15, 2001 in the case of conspiracy to commit murder and treason. The court framed charges against the 14 accused on November 21, 2004. Of the 50 prosecution witnesses, 34 testified. The arguments in the case ended on March 11.
Public Prosecutor (PP) Abu Abdullah Bhuiyan handled the case on behalf of the state. Lawyers Moniruzzaman, Hedayet Ullah and Rafiqul Islam represented the accused.
At the hearing, the prosecution demanded the death penalty for all the accused. Abu Abdullah Bhuiyan expressed satisfaction over the verdict.
