Arguments on behalf of the absconding 19 fugitives accused in August 21 grenade attack were presented to Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 in Dhaka on January 2 by state-appointed defence lawyers. Till Wednesday (January 3), on behalf of five absconding accused the arguments were presented to the court. However, no one, not even their lawyers know where the 19 accused fugitives are. Only some of them have explained the cause of their clients’ absence.
According to court sources, initially, 52 people were accused in the case. The names of war crimes accused Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, leader of the terrorist group Harkatul Jihad Mufti Abdul Hannan and his associate Sharif Shahedul Bipul accused in former British High Commissioner Anwar Chowdhury grenade attack case were dropped from the list as they already been hanged. The list of accused now stands at 49, out of which 22 are in jail, 19 are absconding and 8 are on bail.
The names of four of the 19 fugitives are on Interpol’s Red Notices list. Among them, BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia’s former political secretary Harris Chowdhury, former BNP lawmaker Kazi Shah Mofazzal Hossain Kaikobad, Harkatul Jihad leader Maulana Mohammad Tajuddin Mia and Ratul Babu are on the list. Khaleda Zia’s elder son Tarek Rahman, who is now living in London was also on the Interpol’s wanted list for a while. Later, his name was removed from the list.
There are allegations that the law enforcers are not giving enough effort to bring the fugitives back to Bangladesh. They are often in the dark about the whereabouts of these fugitives.
When asked about the fugitives, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) special investigation officer Abdul Kahar Akand who is overseeing investigation in the August 21 grenade attack told the Bangla Tribune that efforts are underway to arrest the fugitives & the government is aware of the current location of some of the key accused among the 19 fugitives”.
The other fugitive accused are- Lieutenant Colonel (retd) Saiful Islam Joardar, Hanif Paribahan’s owner Mohammad Hanif, former Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Khan Saeed Hasan, former District Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Obaidur Rahman Khan, Harkatul Jihad leader Maulana Mohibul Mutakkin, Anisul Mursalin alias Mursalin, Mohammad Khalil, Jahangir Alam Badar, Mohammed Iqbal, Maulana Abu Bakar alias Hafez Lokman Howlader, Mufti Abdul Hai, Maulana Liton alias Delwar Hossain alias Jobair and Mufti Shafiqur Rahman.
-Tarique Rahman-
BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia’s elder son, senior vice chairman of the BNP Tarique Rahman is currently in London. During the rule of military-backed caretaker government in 2008, he went to London after being released on parole. The government of Bangladesh sent a letter to the UK government about sending Tarique back to Bangladesh but no progress has been made in this regard.
-Mawlana Tajuddin Mia-
Maulana Tajuddin fled the country after the August 21 grenade attack in 2004. According to law enforcement agencies, he is living in South Africa. In November 2016, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam discussed the issue with South Africa’s government to bring Tajuddin back to Bangladesh for trial.
-Kazi Shah Mofazzal Hossain Kaykobad-
According to information from law enforcement agencies, former BNP MP Shah Mofazzal Hossain Kaikobad is living in the UAE as a fugitive.
-ATM Amin Ahmed-
Former DGFI Director Major General (retd) ATM Amin Ahmad went to the US after Awami League came to power in 2009. According to government sources, he is still living there.
-Anisul Mursalin and Mohibul Muttakin-
Detectives have said that Harkatul Jihad militants Anisul Mursalin and Mohibul Muttakin are being held in Tihar jail in India.


Law enforcers are in the dark about the other fugitives. However, it has been learned from law enforcement sources that Mohammed Hanif of Hanif Paribahan and Ratul Babu are in India, Lieutenant Colonel (retd) Saiful Islam Joardar is in Canada, militant leader Shafiqur Rahman, Mufti Abdul Hai, Maulana Abu Bakr, Iqbal, Khalilur Rahman, Jahangir Alam alias Badar, Maulana Liton alias Jobayer alias Delwar, former deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (east) Obaidur Rahman and deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (south) Khan Sayed Hasan are staying in Pakistan.

After the August 21, 2004, grenade attack, a case was filed by Sub-Inspector of Motijheel Police Station Sharif Faruque Ahmed under the sections– 120 / B, 324, 326, 307, 302, 2011, 118, 119, 212, 330, 218, 109 and 34– of the Penal Code. Later on June 9, 2008, senior ASP of CID Fazlul Kabir filed two charge sheets in the CMM Court under the Murder and Explosives Act, naming Harkatul Jihad leader Mufti Hannan and 22 others as suspects in the August 21 grenade attack. In that same year, the proceedings of the case were made at Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 and trial for both cases began.
After recording testimonies from 61 witnesses, the prosecution requested permission for further investigation and permission was granted on June 25, 2009. Later, Abdul Kahar Akand filed a supplementary charge sheet on July 2, 2011, accusing 30 people including BNP Senior Vice Chairman Tarique Rahman, Harris Chowdhury, Mofazzal Hossain Kaikobad and Abdus Salam Pintu in the August 21 grenade attack.
Shahed Nur Uddin is acting as a judge in the case.