Staff Reporter :
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and 65 other party leaders have been acquitted in a case filed over a crude bomb explosion during political unrest in Dhaka.
Judge Md Zakir Hossain Galib of the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court passed the order on Thursday, accepting the police’s final report, said Additional Public Prosecutor Md Rafiqul Islam Khan.
Those acquitted include BNP Standing Committee members Mirza Abbas, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, and Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury; Vice Chairmen Shamsuzzaman Dudu and Barkat Ullah Bulu; former home minister Altaf Hossain; Joint Secretary General Mahbub Uddin Khokon; BNP chairperson’s adviser Zainul Abedin; BNP leader Ishraque Hossain; and International Affairs Secretary Barrister Nasir Uddin, among others.
According to the case details, BNP leaders and activists from across the country gathered in Dhaka on 28 October 2023 for a scheduled grand rally.
During the programme, violence broke out in the Ramna area, where vehicles were vandalised and police personnel allegedly obstructed in the line of duty.
Sub-Inspector Auwal of Ramna Model Police Station filed the case on 31 October 2023, naming 55 accused, including Mirza Fakhrul.
Following investigation, Sub-Inspector Mamun Hasan submitted two final reports on 21 October last year, recommending acquittal for 65 of the accused.
The Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court accepted one of those reports on 18 December, acquitting the BNP leaders of charges filed under separate sections of law.
The remaining report filed under the Explosives Act was later transferred to the Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court, which has now issued its order of acquittal.
