'Chittagong Mass Killing Day' today

On this day in 1988, at least 24 people were killed and over 200 injured in the city when police and BDR opened indiscriminate fire on a peaceful procession led by Sheikh Hasan to dislodge autocratic Ershad from power.

But the case is yet to be disposed of, nine years after its filing.

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Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina, then heading an alliance of 15 opposition parties, was leading a mammoth procession towards the Laldighi Maidan for a scheduled public meeting on the day.

The public meeting, preceded by a day-long hartal in the port city, was part of the alliance's week-long countrywide movement programme from January 24 to January 30.

To foil the hartal and the meeting, the then autocrat government had deployed hundreds of policemen and BDR in and around Laldighi Maidan and in other areas of the city.

Flying in here in a Biman from Dhaka, Sheikh Hasina and other 15-party leaders was leading a huge procession towards the Laldighi Maidan.

Police and BDR halted it as it reached near Kotwali thana area at around 2.15pm.

Without provocation, police opened fire and charged batons on the procession in front of Muslim High School and Bangladesh Bank Bhavan adjacent to Chittagong court building.

The 24 persons who died on the spot and later at hospitals were identified as Chhatra League leaders Mohiuddin Shamim and Athelburt Gomez; and Sajjad Hossain, Swapa Bishwas, Swapan Chowdhury, DK Das, Samar Dutta, Sabuj Hossain, Kamal Hossain, Shahadat Hossain, Pankaj Boiddya, Gobinda Das, Bahar Uddin, Ajit Sarker, Mohammad Hasan, Chan Meah, Quddus, Hasan, Palash, Abdul Mannan, Kashem, GK Chowdhury, Khetmajur Samity leader Ramesh Boiddya and Chhatra Union leader Badrul.

In 1993, an eyewitness, lawyer Shahudul Huda, filed a case against the then CMP Commissioner Mirza Raqibul Huda and some others in connection with the killings.