The High Court has acquitted nine death-row convicts in the case of an attempted assassination of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Ishwardi Railway Station in Pabna three decades ago. Additionally, 25 convicts who were sentenced to life imprisonment have also been acquitted.
On Wednesday, February 5, a High Court bench comprising Justice Muhammad Mahbub Ul Islam and Justice Md Hamidur Rahman delivered the verdict.
In its observations, the High Court stated that the case regarding the attempted assassination of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Ishwardi Railway Station in Pabna three decades ago was politically motivated and exaggerated.
Barrister Kaiser Kamal represented the defendants in court, assisted by Advocate Mahbubur Rahman Khan and Advocate Maksud Ullah.
Earlier, on January 30, the hearings for the death reference and appeals in the case were concluded.
In this high-profile case, on July 3, 2019, the Additional District and Sessions Judge’s Court of Pabna sentenced nine individuals to death and 25 others to life imprisonment along with financial penalties. All the accused were leaders and activists of the BNP and its affiliated organizations. Meanwhile, five of the accused have passed away.
It is worth noting that in 1994, Sheikh Hasina was the opposition leader. On September 23, 1994, Sheikh Hasina was traveling from Khulna to Saidpur by train and holding rallies at railway stations. According to the case chargesheet, when the train reached Ishwardi Station, gunshots and bombs were fired at Sheikh Hasina’s location.
bd-pratidin/Rafid
