Twenty-five years after a bomb ripped through Bangla new year celebrations at Ramna Batamul, killing 10 people and shattering one of Bangladesh’s most cherished cultural events, a key case tied to the attack remains unresolved, mired in prolonged hearings and procedural delays.
The 2001 attack during Pahela Baishakh turned a festive gathering into a scene of carnage. Nine people died on the spot and another succumbed to injuries in hospital. While a murder case ended in convictions more than a decade ago, a parallel case under the Explosives Act is still awaiting a verdict.
The Ramna Batamul trial is currently stuck at the stage of recording statements from the accused under Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, where defendants present their defence.
Court records show that witness testimonies in the explosives case concluded on 21 March 2022. The case was later transferred between tribunals before landing at Dhaka’s Special Tribunal-15. For more than four years, it has remained at the same procedural stage.
At the latest hearing on 31 March, several accused were not produced before the court from prison, prompting Judge Towhida Akhter to defer proceedings until 9 July.
Public Prosecutor Omar Faruk Faruki said the case was nearing completion but had suffered from years of inaction. “There was little progress during the previous government. We hope for a resolution before the next Pohela Baishakh,” he told TIMES of Bangladesh.
He said 54 out of 84 listed witnesses had testified, and difficulties in securing key witnesses, alongside proceedings in the High Court, contributed to delays.
Additional Public Prosecutor Mahfuz Hasan said the absence of detained accused, held in different jails across the country in multiple cases, had repeatedly stalled hearings. “We are trying to expedite the trial so that the victims’ families receive justice,” he said.
Defence counsel Md Jashim Uddin argued that some accused had been held in custody for nearly two decades without sufficient evidence. “Their names were not in the original complaint. They were implicated later based on confessional statements without corroboration. Prolonged detention in such a case undermines justice,” he said.
In June 2014, a Dhaka court sentenced eight men to death and six others to life imprisonment in the murder case related to the same attack, nearly 13 years after the incident.
Those sentenced to death were Mufti Abdul Hannan, Maulana Akbar Hossain alias Helaluddin, Maulana Mohammad Tajuddin, Hafiz Jahangir Alam Badar, Maulana Abu Bakar alias Selim Hossain, Mufti Shafiqul Rahman, Mufti Abdul Hai and Arif Hasan Suman.
Six others – Maulana Abu Taher, Maulana Sabbir alias Abdul Hannan, Maulana Yahya, Maulana Shawkat Osman, Maulana Abdul Rouf and Shahadat Ullah Jewel – were sentenced to life imprisonment. All were members of the banned militant group Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami.
The verdict has not been fully implemented even after 12 years. Abdul Hannan’s sentence was executed in another case. The High Court disposed of appeals against the trial court verdict last year in May, reducing the death sentences of seven convicts.
Among them, Tajuddin, brother of BNP leader Abdus Salam Pintu, was sentenced to life imprisonment, while six others had their sentences reduced to 10 years. Tajuddin remains absconding.
Of the six convicts originally sentenced to life imprisonment by the trial court, the High Court upheld the sentence of Shahadat Ullah Jewel, while three others had their sentences reduced to 10 years. Appeals of two convicts were abated following their deaths.
Two convicts have already been released after completing their sentences, while five others remain in prison. However, the absence of a full written judgment has prevented the convicts from filing further appeals.
Supreme Court lawyer Yarul Islam told TIMES, “Even after two and a half decades, final disposal of such a case has not been ensured. It is a mockery of justice.”
Defence lawyer Shishir Monir said they would appeal once the full text of the High Court verdict is released, adding they expect to receive justice at the Appellate Division.
