Ramna Batamul blast: HC adjourns verdict delivery, sets May 13 to read rest part

The High Court today started delivering its verdict on the death references and appeals in the 2001 Ramna Batamul carnage case, which left 10 people dead during Pahela Baishakh celebrations in Dhaka.

The bench of Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice Nasreen Akter began the delivery of the judgement at 11:30am and continued till 1:00pm.

Later, the bench set May 13 to deliver the rest of the verdict, our correspondent reports from the court.

On February 18, the bench kept the death references—trial court documents required for confirming death sentences—and the appeals filed by the convicts as curia advisari vult, meaning the judgement was reserved for delivery on any day after conclusion of the hearings.

On April 14, 2001, two bombs exploded during the 1408 Pahela Baishakh celebrations organised by Chhayanaut at Ramna Batamul in the capital. The blasts, which shocked the nation, killed 10 people and injured several others.

On 23 June 2014, a Dhaka court sentenced eight members of banned militant outfit Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami to death in connection with the attack.

They include Mufti Abdul Hannan, Moulana Akbar Hossain alias Helaluddin, Moulana Mohammad Tajuddin, Hafez Jahangir Alam Badar, Moulana Abu Bakar alias Selim Hawlader, Mufti Shafiqur Rahman, Mufti Abdul Hye, and Arif Hasan Suman.

Six others—Moulana Abu Taher, Moulana Sabbir alias Abdul Hannan, Moulana Yahiya, Moulana Shawkat Osman, Moulana Abdur Rouf, and Shahadat Ullah— were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Mufti Abdul Hannan, one of the country's most notorious militants and a key figure in Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami's attacks across Bangladesh, was executed on April 13, 2017 at Kashimpur High Security Prison. He was executed for a separate grenade attack on the then British High Commissioner Anwar Choudhury in Sylhet on May 21, 2004.

Several other accused in that case remain absconding.

During the hearings, a group of defence lawyers including Mohammad Shishir Manir represented the convicts, while Deputy Attorney General Sultana Akter Rubi appeared for the state.