The High Court has acquitted all 47 individuals, including nine BNP activists who had been sentenced to death by a lower court, in the case concerning a 1994 bomb attack and shooting on a train carrying Awami League President Sheikh Hasina in Pabna’s Ishwardi.
Justice Muhammad Mahbub Ul Islam and Justice Md Hamidur Rahman delivered the verdict on Wednesday after reviewing the death references and appeals of the accused.
During the hearing, Barrister Kayser Kamal represented the defendants, with assistance from Mahbubur Rahman Khan and Maksud Ullah.
The incident occurred on Sept 23, 1994, during the first government led by BNP’s Khaleda Zia. Hasina, traveling by train from Khulna to Syedpur, was scheduled to stop at Ishwardi Railway Station for a party event. As the train reached the station, her carriage was bombed and shot at, but Hasina survived.
Nazrul Islam, the officer-in-charge of the railway police station, filed a case naming seven suspects and over 100 unidentified individuals. However, the investigation was stalled under the BNP government. After the Awami League came to power in 1996, the police resumed the investigation.
The Criminal Investigation Department subsequently filed charges against 52 individuals, including leaders and activists from Ishwardi’s BNP, Jubo Dal, and Chhatra Dal. The trial began, and on July 3, 2019, Judge Rostam Ali of Pabna Additional Sessions Court sentenced nine BNP figures to death, 25 to life imprisonment, and 13 to 10 years in prison.
The nine death row convicts included prominent figures such as Moklesur Rahman, AKM Aktaruzzaman Akter, Zakaria Pintu, Mustafa Noor Alam Shyamal, Mahbubul Rahman Palash, Rezaul Karim alias Shahin, Shamsul Alam, Azizur Rahman VP Shahin, and Shahidul Islam Atal.
The 25 individuals sentenced to life imprisonment included Islam Hossain Jewel, Alauddin Biswas, Al Amin, Shimu, and others. Another group of 30 people received 10-year prison sentences.
In 2019, the case was referred to the High Court for approval of the death sentences. Following the hearing of the appeals, the High Court acquitted all 47 individuals on Wednesday.
Barrister Kayser Kamal stated, “Despite the absence of charges against anyone, nine individuals were given death sentences, showing that the trial was malicious. The investigation was false, biased, and motivated by personal vendettas and the desire to please certain people.”
Two of the 47 individuals convicted by the trial court have passed away, and aside from the nine sentenced to death, the rest were granted bail on Aug 5.
