Ramna Batamul bombing: HC commutes sentences of 10 convicts
Nine convicts sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment
The High Court has commuted the sentences of 10 convicts in the 2001 Ramna Batamul bomb attack case that left 10 people dead.
The bench of Justice Mostafa Zaman Islam and Justice Nasrin Akter today (13 May) delivered the verdict after a hearing on death references and appeals submitted by the convicts in the case, according to court sources.
The court sentenced a top leader of banned militant organisation Harkat-ul-Jihad (HuJI) Maulana Tajuddin, to life term imprisonment commuting his death penalty, while upholding the life imprisonment of Shahadat Ullah Jewel.
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The court also commuted the sentences of nine other convicts, who were previously on death row or serving life terms, to 10 years in prison each.
The HC abated the appeal petitions of three convicts as they died during the trial proceedings.
Earlier on 8 May, the HC fixed today for delivering judgment in the case.
On 23 June 2014, a lower court sentenced eight people, including the top leader of Harkat-ul-Jihad (HuJI), Mufti Abdul Hannan, to death in the Ramna Batamul bombing case. Six others were given life imprisonment in the same verdict.
The accused later appealed against the verdict in the HC.
The bombing that took place on 14 April 2001 during Chhayanaut's Pahela Baishakh celebration at Ramna Batamul killed ten. Nine people died at the scene, while another died later in the hospital.
Following the incident, Sergeant Amal Chandra Chand of Nilkhet Police Outpost filed two cases at Ramna Police Station, one under murder and another under explosives laws, on the same day.
On 30 November 2008, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) submitted charge sheets against 14 accused in both cases.
After taking evidence, the trial court announced the verdict in the murder case on 23 June 2014.
Subsequently, the death references and appeals from the accused were sent to the HC.
While the murder case verdict has been announced, the explosives case is still pending in Dhaka's Speedy Trial Tribunal No 1.
In this case, the trial court sentenced eight people to death, including Mufti Hannan, and six others to life imprisonment.
The eight death row convicts are Mufti Abdul Hannan, Maulana Akbar Hossain, Arif Hassan Sumon, Maulana Tajuddin, Hafez Jahangir Alam Badr, Maulana Abu Bakr aka Maulana Hafez Selim Hawladar, Maulana Abdul Hai, and Maulana Shafiqur Rahman.
Among them, Mufti Hannan has already been executed for his role in the grenade attack case in Sylhet on 12 April 2017.
After the trial court's verdict in 2014, the case came to the High Court as a death reference.
Jail appeals were also filed. Later, the case was placed on the court's agenda after the paper book.
