22 years on, August 21 attack still haunts survivors

Twenty-two years have passed since the deadly grenade attack on an Awami League rally on Bangabandhu Avenue in the capital on August 21, 2004. The attack, which targeted then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina, killed 24 Awami League leaders and activists and injured more than 300 others. Ivy Rahman, the party's women's affairs secretary, was among those killed.

Police filed two cases with Motijheel Police Station following the attack, under the laws on murder and explosives. The cases alleged that the attack was carried out with the intention of killing Sheikh Hasina. The investigation also found that the Arges grenades used in the attack had been brought from Pakistan.

A reinvestigation began in 2007 during the caretaker government. On June 11, 2008, CID investigator Fazlul Kabir submitted charge sheets in the two cases against 22 people.

After the Awami League came to power in 2009, a court ordered further investigation following a prosecution petition. On July 3, 2011, a supplementary charge sheet was filed against 30 more people, including BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, bringing the total number of accused to 52. The number was later reduced to 49 after several accused were removed from the case following the execution of death sentences in other cases.

After a lengthy trial, a Dhaka court delivered its verdict on October 10, 2018. Former state minister for home affairs Lutfozzaman Babar and 18 others were sentenced to death, while Tarique Rahman and 18 others received life sentences. Another 11 accused were handed prison terms of varying lengths.

The accused who were in custody later appealed against the verdict in the High Court, while the death references of those sentenced to death were also sent to the court for approval.

On December 1, 2024, the High Court allowed the appeals and acquitted all the accused, while rejecting the death references. The court raised serious questions about the investigation and trial, observing that the trial court’s verdict had relied on weak and hearsay evidence.

It noted that no eyewitness could specifically identify who threw the grenades during the attack.

The High Court also found that the order for the reinvestigation and the supplementary charge sheet based on it were not legally valid.

A portion of the High Court's full judgment described the August 21 attack as one of the country's most heinous and tragic incidents and stressed the need for a proper and independent investigation. However, in its final judgment on September 4, 2025, the Appellate Division removed that portion of the High Court judgment.

More than two decades after the attack, questions surrounding its planners and perpetrators remain unresolved, while the possibility of a fresh investigation or trial continues to be debated. The 22nd anniversary comes as the families of those killed and injured continue to await definitive answers about one of the country's deadliest political attacks.