50 BNP men jailed in PM’s convoy attack case

A Satkhira court on Thursday sentenced 50 leaders and activists of BNP to various jail terms in a case filed over 2002’s attack on the convoy of then-opposition leader and current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The court of Satkhira Chief Judicial Magistrate Md Humayun Kabir passed the verdict after 34 of the convicts were produced before it in the morning.

The hearings in the case began on January 27 this year, when the court rejected bail pleas of 34 accused who were in police custody and sent them back to jail.

The convicts include former Satkhira-1 BNP MP Habibul Islam Habib, Kalaroa's former mayor Akhtarul Islam, Satkhira Bar Association’s former general secretary advocate Abdus Sattar, advocate of Supreme Court Abdus Samad, three former UP chairmen-- Ashraf Hossain, Rakibul Islam and Rabiul Islam.

Tiger Khokon, one of the 50 accused, is serving jail time in another case. Sixteen others accused of the case, including former councillor Abdul Kader Bacchu, are absconding.

Satkhira Chief Judicial Magistrate Md Humayun Kabir on January 27 fixed February 4 as the date for the verdict.

On August 30 in 2002, PM Sheikh Hasina was returning to Magura after visiting a freedom fighter's wife in Satkhira when her convoy got attacked in Kalaroa.

Hasina survived the attack relatively unscathed but many of the Awami League leaders including District Awami League convener Engineer Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, central Awami League leader Fatema Zaman Sathi, Abdul Matin, Jobaidul Haque Russell and Shahidul Haque Jibon were injured. Several journalists from Satkhira were also attacked.

At the same time, Kalaroa’s commander of freedom fighters Mohammad Moslem Uddin filed a case against 27 for the attack which was later dismissed due to not being recorded at the police station.

The case wad reopened on October 15, 2014 and police pressed charges in court against 50 accused in this connection.