Journalists’ accounts on Aug 21 grenade attack

City Desk :
Gruesome grenade attack on a rally of Awami League, apparently aimed at killing Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina was a turning point in the political history of Bangladesh.

A number of witnesses while talking to BSS described the incident how the criminals backed by the then BNP-Jamaat leaders occurred the attack 19 years ago in broad day light.

S M Gorky, who was the chief photojournalist at Bangla daily Jugantar, witnessed how the gruesome grenade attack unfolded on August 21 in 2004 in front of his eyes.

A makeshift stage was built using a truck for the Awami League’s rally protesting the murders of some party leaders and militant acts and unabated corruption taken place during the then BNP-Jamaat regime, reports BSS.

“When Sheikh Hasina was about to finished her speech chanting slogans “Joy Bangla, Joy Bangabandhu” and wanted to get down from the dais, some photojournalists requested her to turn towards them for better snaps,” said Gorky.

At the request of the photo journalists Sheikh Hasina stood for a while on the stage to take photos. Within seconds, the first grenade was hurled and we heard something going off there,” Gorky said adding that at first we could not understand what was happening.”

All on a sudden we found that many people were lying on the ground as injured by grenade splinters, Gorky, now senior photographer of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said.

Immediate after several explosions, the AL central leaders including Mohammad Hanif, Mofajjal Hossain Chowdhury Maya and Sheikh Hasina’s bodyguard Mahbub immediately formed a human shield to save Sheikh Hasina, he said.

When the grenade attacks stopped for a while, AL leaders and workers cordoned off Sheikh Hasina and took her towards her bulletproof jeep.

As Sheikh Hasina was approaching towards her jeep, the criminals opened fire targeting the car leaving one of the security officials Mahbub killed on the spot.

However, the driver of the vehicle could hurriedly able to take her to safer place from the scene, he noted.