Aug 21 grenade attack: Appeal hearing on Tarique, Babar acquittals today

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court is set to hear the prosecution’s appeal today (Sunday) against the acquittal of BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman, former State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfozzaman Babar, and other accused in the 21 August grenade attack case.

The grenade attack, which took place during an Awami League rally on Bangabandhu Avenue in 2004, killed 24 people and injured over a hundred. The attack targeted the then Awami League president Sheikh Hasina.

On 1 December last year, the High Court overturned the trial court’s sentencing verdict, acquitting Tarique Rahman, Lutfozzaman Babar, and others. Following this, the prosecution obtained permission to appeal the acquittal verdict.

The appeal hearing began on 17 July, with further proceedings scheduled for today, 27 July, before a bench led by Chief Justice Dr. Syed Refat Ahmed. The prosecution has been instructed to submit a summary of the appeal within the stipulated time.

The Supreme Court had published full verdicts on both related cases—murder and explosives—last December. Afterward, the prosecution filed leave-to-appeal petitions which were accepted in June. The cases have since been consolidated for hearing before the Appellate Division.

The case remains a significant chapter in Bangladesh’s political and legal history, revolving around the deadly grenade attack on a major political rally over two decades ago.