Ramna explosion incident not resolved even after 22 years

Even though 22 years have passed since the explosion in Ramna, there is still no justice. Although 9 years have passed since the judgment of the trial court, the appeal in the high court is still pending. As a result, the punishment of the accused cannot be executed.

On April 14, 2001, 10 people were killed and several others were injured in a bomb blast on the New Year celebrations in Ramna Botomul. In this incident, the police filed a case at Ramna police station. On June 23, 2014, the judge gave verdict to the case. In the verdict, Mufti Abdul Hannan, the top leader of the banned militant organization Harkat-ul-Jihad Bangladesh (HuJi-B), was sentenced to death and six others to life imprisonment.

In the same year, Maulana Tajuddin, Hafez Jahangir Alam, Mufti Shafiqur Rahman, Mufti Abdul Hai, Maulana Abu Bakar and Arif Hasan alias Sumon filed a criminal appeal in the High Court against the verdict of the judicial court. Apart from this, Mufti Abdul Hannan, Maulana Akbar Hossain alias Helal Uddin, Arif Hasan alias Suman filed a jail appeal. Among them, Mufti Hannan, the main accused in the case, was hanged in another case.

The death reference (sanction of death sentence) of eight accused in the Ramna bomb blast murder case came up in the agenda of several benches of the High Court of Appeal. But the case was not settled after the hearing. This case appeared last in the High Court Bench of Justice Krishna Debnath and Justice KM Zahid Sarwar Kajol on November 2, 2021. The High Court bench dropped the case from the agenda. The case file is now in the death reference wing of the High Court. Now, if the Chief Justice wants, he can refer Ramna explosion case appeal and death reference to a new criminal bench.

According to prosecution, the case will be presented to the Chief Justice after Eid, following the Supreme Court's ongoing holiday, in order to select a bench for hearings. 

Advocate Mohammad Shishir Monir, lawyer for the accused, said the case was listed in three benches of the High Court for hearing of the death reference and appeal of the accused. However, the hearing was not completed in any bench. Now if the Chief Justice appoints a new bench, the hearing will begin. He urged the prosecution to take the initiative of hearing of the appeal and death reference as soon as possible.