Detectives yesterday pressed murder charges against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and 37 others, mostly her party men, for their alleged involvement in a petrol bomb attack on a bus in the capital's Jatrabari in January.

The attack on the night of January 23 killed one person and injured 30 others.

The accused have also been charged with explosions in the same attack -- one of many that the country witnessed in the three months since early January when the BNP-led 20-party alliance started an indefinite blockade.

This is the first time Khaleda, also a former prime minister, has been charged in a criminal case. Currently she stands accused in five corruption cases and three defamation suits. In addition, she is facing four other cases over recent blockade violence.

According to the charge sheet, Khaleda masterminded the arson attack on the passenger bus.

She was not named as an accused in the First Information Report (FIR), which mentioned that the attack was carried out on her instructions.

The charge sheet showed Khaleda and 30 others as fugitives since they are not on bail in the case.

Contacted, Shimul Biswas, Khaleda's special assistant and also an accused in the case, said: "Any conscious citizen will realise that these cases are false and politically motivated, and are meant to harass the BNP leaders."

A UNB report said the party condemned the submission of the charge sheet.

"We have no word to condemn the ruling party's wrong notion with which it has been advancing to annihilate the opposition out of vengeance," the news agency quoted a BNP statement as saying.

THE CASE

A day after the January 23 attack, Jatrabari Police filed two cases against 68 BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami leaders. The cases were later transferred to the Detective Branch (DB) of Police.

Last evening, Basir Ahmed, a DB sub-inspector submitted two charge sheets to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court of Dhaka in one case. One charge sheet involves killing and causing injuries and the other involves blasting firebombs.

The accused include BNP leaders MK Anwar, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed, Amanullah Aman, Barkatullah Bulu, Habibunnabi Khan Sohel, Mir Sarafat Ali Sapu, Azizul Bari Helal, Sultan Salauddin Tuku, former BNP lawmaker from Dhaka Salauddin Ahmed, Khaleda's advisors Khandker Mahbub Hossain and Shawkat Mahmud, her special assistant Shimul Biswas and press secretary Maruf Kamal Khan.

Seven of the accused, including Rizvi, are in jail.

Four of the arrestees -- Parvez, Sohag, Liton and Jony -- gave statements before magistrates on different dates admitting their involvement in the attack. The four said they were hired by some central and local BNP leaders to carry out the arson attack to create anarchy in the city, court sources said.

After submitting the charge sheets, Basir Ahmed, also the investigating officer of the case, appealed to the court to issue arrest warrants against the fugitives.

The court is expected to decide on accepting the charges and issuing the arrest orders on May 28.

The IO appealed to the court to drop charges against 31 people named in the FIR, including BNP Standing Committee Member Rafiqul Islam Mia and Vice-chairman Selima Rahman, as their involvement was not proved.

FOUR MORE CASES AGAINST KHALEDA

The second case over Jatrabari attack, filed under Special Powers Act for carrying out subversive activities, is under investigation. The same 68 people are accused in the case. Khaleda is named in this case as an "instigator," not as an accused.

According to the FIR, 18 BNP leaders planned the attack while 50 others carried it out.

Khaleda has been sued for "instigating" another arson attack on a vehicle at Chouddagram in Comilla. Eight passengers were killed in the incident in January.  

Besides, she is accused of masterminding torching a bus in Damodor in February in Khulna.

The BNP chief has been named as the prime suspect in the crude bomb attack on a rally of Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan outside her office at Gulshan in the capital.

All these cases are under investigation.