The High Court has acquitted 47 accused, including nine who were sentenced to death, in the assassination attempt case against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled during the student uprising. Of the remaining accused, 25 were sentenced to life imprisonment and 13 to 10 years in prison. All of the acquitted are BNP leaders and activists.
Justice Muhammad Mahbub ul Islam and Justice Hamidur Rahman announced the verdict on Wednesday (February 5).
Barrister Kaiser Kamal represented the accused in court. He was assisted by Advocate Mahbubur Rahman Khan and Advocate Maqsud Ullah.
Earlier, on January 30, the verdict was set for February 5 after hearing the appeals and death references of the accused convicted in the case.
After the verdict, defense lawyer Barrister Kaiser Kamal said that the trial court's verdict was a vindictive decision. The Pabna Additional District and Sessions Judge's Court gave that verdict in 2019 to please Sheikh Hasina. All those convicted in the verdict were BNP leaders and activists. The High Court acquitted all of them after a hearing.
It is learned that the then opposition leader and former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was traveling from Khulna to Saidpur by Rupsha Express train on September 23, 1994. Although she was supposed to hold a meeting on the way, the case alleges that BNP leader Zakaria Pintu and other accused in the case, led by him, opened fire and hurled bombs at the train near Ishwardi Station with the intention of killing Sheikh Hasina.
In this incident, the then officer-in-charge of Ishwardi GRP Police Station, Nazrul Islam, filed a case on the same day. Later, the CID started investigating the case. On April 3, 1997, a charge sheet was filed against 52 people in the court. Five of them died and were acquitted from the charge sheet. On July 3, 2019, the court sentenced nine people, including Zakaria Pintu, to death. Along with this, 25 people were sentenced to life imprisonment and 13 others to 10 years in prison.
Later, the death references of the convicts sentenced to death were sent to the High Court. The convicts also appealed for acquittal. The hearing of the appeals and death references of the convicts sentenced in this case concluded on January 30.
