The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has upheld the acquittal of all accused in the 21 August 2004 grenade attack case, including BNP’s Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman and former State Minister for Home Lutfozzaman Babar.
The verdict was delivered by a six-member bench led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed on Thursday morning.
On 1 December 2024, the High Court had acquitted all the accused, including Tarique Rahman, in connection with the grenade attack under charges of murder and violation of the Explosives Substances Act. Following the verdict, the state filed an appeal, challenging the acquittal.
After a prolonged hearing, the Appellate Division dismissed the appeal on Thursday, maintaining the acquittal.
The grenade attack took place on 21 August 2004 at a rally of the then-opposition leader, Sheikh Hasina, on Bangabandhu Avenue. The attack killed 24 members of the Awami League. In the aftermath, two separate cases were filed under the murder and explosives laws.
In 2009, after the Awami League came to power, further investigations were conducted into the cases, leading to supplementary charge sheets naming Tarique Rahman and 30 others as accused.
In 2018, the trial court had handed down verdicts for the two cases. The court sentenced Lutfozzaman Babar, former Deputy Minister for Education Abdus Salam Pintu, and 19 others to death, while Tarique Rahman and 19 others were sentenced to life imprisonment, with 11 others receiving varying prison terms. All the accused were acquitted in the High Court.
