Eleven Years into Ramna Batamul Blasts
Trial in two cases yet to be completed
Eleven years have gone by, but the trials of the two cases over gruesome Ramna Batamul blasts on Pahela Baishakh are yet to be completed.
Trial of one of the two cases, filed over the killings of 10 persons on Bangla New Year 1408, is being delayed due to the non-appearance of witnesses and accused during proceedings.
Meanwhile, trail of the other remains stuck since 2009 as the Supreme Court registrar is yet to give his opinion on whether trials of both the cases could be held in the same court.
Yesterday, a Dhaka court could not record statements of two prosecution witnesses in the murder case, as jail authorities failed to produce one of the accused before it.
Judge (in-charge) Mohammad Akhteruzzaman of the Second Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court adjourned the proceedings and fixed April 16 for the next hearing.
Two former officials of the Detective Branch and the Criminal Investigation Department were present at the court.
So far, the court recorded depositions of 52 witnesses out of 84.
But proceedings of the case crumbles often as the accused in the case cannot be produced to the court during the hearing days. Most of the accused are also accused in several other cases at different courts, sources said.
Meanwhile, the post of the court's judge is lying vacant for the last six months and the proceedings are conducted by Mohammad Akhteruzzaman.
During the traditional celebrations of Bangla New Year 1408 (April 14, 2001) at the Ramna Batamul, the blast claimed lives of 10 people while 50 others were left wounded. Following the incident, two cases were filed with Ramna Police Station.
Seven years after the incident, during the immediate past caretaker rule, the investigators found Harkat-ul Jihad (Huji) links in the blast. The CID pressed charges in both the cases against 14 top leaders of the banned militant outfit on December 30, 2008.
The charge-sheeted accused are Mufti Abdul Hannan, Mufti Shafiqur Rahman, Moulana Yahiya, Mufti Abdul Hye, Moulana Shawkat Osman alias Sheikh Farid, Moulana Abu Bakar alias Selim Hawlader, Moulana Mohammad Tajuddin, Moulana Abdul Hannan Sabbir, Arif Hasan Suman, Moulana Akbar Hossain alias Helaluddin, Moulana Abu Taher, Moulana Abdur Rouf, Hafez Jahangir Alam Badar and Shahadat Ullah alias Jewel.
Of them, Hannan, Suman, Jewel, Abu Taher, Sheikh Farid, Sabbir and Rouf are behind bars while Akbar is out on a High Court bail. The six others are still at large.
Trials of both the cases began at the Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 of Dhaka. Later the murder case was transferred to Speedy Trial Tribunal-3. But then the Judge of the tribunal Kaniz Akhter Nasrina Khanam sent the case to Second Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court as it failed to complete the trial within the stipulated 135 working days.
Trail of the other case filed under the Explosive Substances Act remains stuck as the Supreme Court registrar is yet to give his opinion on whether the trials of both the cases could be held in the same court.
Ironically, the case is pending with the Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 of Dhaka.
Masdar Hossain, erstwhile judge of the tribunal, in a letter on September 29, 2009 sought the SC registrar's opinion. Talking to The Daily Star, officials of the tribunal yesterday said they were yet to receive any reply from the SC registrar's office.
Asked, Registrar AKM Shamsul Islam told The Daily Star that he had no knowledge of the matter since he joined on June 7 last year.
He, however, said, "I shall take an initiative to give opinion on the issue.”
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