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HC Acquits All Accused In Hasina Train Attack Case

HC Acquits All Accused In 1994 Hasina Train Attack Case  || Photo : Collected

HC Acquits All Accused In 1994 Hasina Train Attack Case || Photo : Collected

The High Court has acquitted all accused, including nine individuals who had been sentenced to death, in a case concerning an attempt to murder then-opposition leader in parliament and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina by attacking a train carrying her in Pabna in 1994. 

A bench comprising Justice Muhammad Mahbub Ul Islam and Justice Hamidur Rahman delivered the verdict on Wednesday.

During the proceedings, lawyers Kaiser Kamal and Md. Maksud Ullah represented the defendants, while Deputy Attorney General Mohammad Mujibur Rahman represented the state.

Earlier, on January 30, the High Court set February 5 to announce a verdict following a hearing on the appeals made by the convicts and the death reference by the state.

According to case documents, Sheikh Hasina was traveling by train from Khulna to Syedpur on September 23, 1994, to attend a party event in the northern region. When the train approached the Ishwardi Railway Station in Pabna, an attack was launched on the train convoy. Allegations of gunfire and a bomb attack were made. The then Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Ishwardi GRP (Railway Police) Station, Nazrul Islam, filed a case, naming seven individuals, including Zakaria Pintu, then leader of Chhatra Dal and General Secretary (suspended committee) of Ishwardi Municipal BNP.

After the case was filed, the police, unable to find any witnesses, submitted a final charge sheet the following year. At the time, the BNP was in power. However, the court did not accept the charge sheet and forwarded the case for further investigation by the CID. After the Awami League came to power in 1996, the case was reinvestigated. On April 3, 1997, the police submitted a new charge sheet to the court, naming 52 individuals, including BNP, Jubo Dal, and Chhatra Dal leaders and activists from Ishwardi.

On July 3, 2019, a Pabna court sentenced nine individuals to death and handed life sentences to 25 accused, along with 10-year rigorous imprisonment for 13 others. All the convicted individuals were leaders and activists of BNP, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, and Juba Dal.

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