Thirteen accused in the much-discussed August 21 grenade attack case are still missing while the concerned could not identify the location of these accused for 18 years.
Only four of them are on the red notice list of the international police agency Interpol. There is no answer as to why the names of the rest are not given in the list.
However, the law enforcement agencies are still in the dark about former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia's political secretary Harish Chowdhury, who is on the red notice list that raises questions.
Twenty four people were killed in that grenade attack in 2004, hundreds were injured. The then opposition leader and current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina narrowly escaped with her life.
The trial of that tragic incident ended in the lower court, but the case is still pending in the high court. Among the 52 accused in this case, 33 are in jail. Three accused have been hanged in another case. Imprisoned Brigadier General Abdur Rahim died on August 15 last year while undergoing treatment due to corona. In addition, Maulana Abdus Salam died in Sylhet Central Jail on November 4 of the same year.
It is known that once the names of six people were on the red notice of Interpol, but now the names of BNP senior vice chairman Tarek Rahman and the party's former member of parliament Shah Mofazzal Hossain Kaykobad have been removed. The list have Ratul Ahmed Babu's name but with no picture.
Mohiul Islam, Additional DIG, in charge of NCB of police headquarters told Bangladesh Pratidin, "Out of the 13 absconders, we sent the names of only six with their information. They were put on red notices. Later the names of Tareq Rahman and Shah Mofazzal Hossain Kaykobad were removed from the red notice. They explained to Interpol that it was a political incident. But we are trying to revive their names.”
Attorney General A. M. Amin Uddin told Bangladesh Pratidin, "The miscreants tried to destroy the democratic system through that despicable and brutal incident. We are trying to hear on priority basis. At the same time, we expect the law enforcement agency to bring back the fugitive accused to the country and face justice at any cost.”
Where are the fugitives?
Tareq Rahman's family has been in the UK for over a decade. Apart from August 21, he is fleeing the country with a sentence of seven years in a money laundering case and 10 years in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case.
Sources from the police headquarters said that the fugitives are out of the country, it is certain. But while there is some idea of who is where, there is no concrete information.
According to various sources, Tajuddin is in South Africa or Pakistan. Ratul is in South Africa. Kaykobad may be in a Middle East country, Hanif is in Thailand or Malaysiya, Ex-Army Officer ATM Amin in USA or Dubai, Saiful Joarder is in Canada. Mursalin and Mahibul Muttakin are in Tihar Jail in India. RAB arrested Mufti Shafiqur Rahman, who was sentenced to life imprisonment, from Bhairab in Kishoreganj, on 14 April this year. Abdul High was arrested from Narayangonj on 22 May.
On August 21, 2004, a grenade attack was carried out on the Awami League rally at Bangabandhu Avenue in the capital. 24 people were killed and several hundred injured in that attack. Although current Prime Minister (then opposition leader) Sheikh Hasina survived, but her hearing power was damaged. After this incident, the BNP-Jamaat coalition government tried to divert the investigation to different sectors, but during the caretaker government, the CID filed a charge sheet against 22 people including militant leader Mufti Abdul Hannan.
