Editorial
Aug 21 grenade attack
Expedite and do justice
WHILE the nation revisited on August 21 the dreadful memory of grenade attack at an AL rally nine years ago, the trial process to bring the masterminds and the perpetrators of that bloodbath to justice plods amid uncertainties. Of the 491 prosecution witnesses, the court has recorded the statements of only 73 witnesses so far.
Regrettably, the perpetrators of the premeditated dastardly grenade assault that killed 24 AL leaders and activists and injured 300 present at the rally have been escaping justice for so long, thanks to the non-challant attitude of the then-BNP government. This led to wiping out much of the evidence and forensic clues of the crime immediately after the attack including misguiding, delaying and derailing the investigation process. Instances like instituting a one-member judicial commission that reportedly discovered foreign hand in the plot and chargesheeting a small-time criminal, the infamous Joj Mia betrayed a lack of seriousness.
However, some concrete steps like framing charges against a number of the accused with recording of statement by prosecution witnesses started during the caretaker government in 2008. Then after assuming office in 2009, the incumbent AL government restarted investigations into the case ending in submission of supplementary chargesheets against a number of other suspects. And the trial process beset with various legal tangles has been dragging on since.
The government, with its term in office ending within the next few months, should therefore make every effort to expedite the trial process to complete it sooner than later and mete out justice to the culprits of the gruesome attack on political opponents.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments