Five ex-cops to walk gallows for killing in Hasina’s Ctg procession

CHATTOGRAM, Jan 20: After long 32 years of the gruesome killing of 24 people in Chattogram, a court here on Monday sentenced five former policemen to death.
Chattogram District and Sessions Judge Md Ismail Hossain handed down the verdict in the afternoon. The victims were marching towards a rally led by Awami League President Sheikh Hasina at Laldighi Maidan in the port city in 1988.
The convicts are then Kotwali Thana patrol inspector Gobinda Chandra Mondal, and constables Mustafizur Rahman, Pradeep Barua, Mohammad Abdullah and Momtaz Uddin. Four of the five accused were present in the court while Mandal is still at large.  The attack was seen by Awami League leaders as an "attempt to assassinate" Hasina.
The court also sentenced each of the five accused to 10 years in prison for 'causing severe injury with dangerous weapons'. Each of them was also fined Tk 50,000.
Arguments of the Chattogram Mass Killing case were held on January 19. The testimonies of 53 witnesses have been completed on January 14 in the court of Chattogram District and Sessions Judge Ismail Hussain.
Talking to the Daily Observer, Public Prosecutor Mesbahuddin said 53 out of 168 witnesses gave their statements before the court.
On January 24 in 1988, as many as 24 people were killed and over 200 others injured when police opened fire on a procession led by chief of the 15-party alliance Sheikh Hasina toward Laldighi Maidan.     On that day, the activists of Awami League, who were rallying on the streets of Chattogram accompanied by Sheikh Hasina, were attacked by the police during the regime of HM Ershad.
The then CMP commissioner Mirza Rakibul Huda ordered the police to open fire on the procession that left at least 24 people dead.
On January 24 of 1988, Sheikh Hasina arrived at port city in the morning. Later, she was leading a procession to the venue of the meeting at Laldighi maidan boarding a truck.
When the procession reached in front of Kotwali intersection, police intercepted it, putting a barricade. As the processionists tried to remove the barricade, the then CMP commissioner Mirza Rakibul Huda ordered his force to open fire.
The indiscriminate firing left at least 24 people dead and over 200 injured. Sheikh Hasina escaped unhurt as a number of activists surrounded her and formed a human wall around her. The purview of the massacre was around Muslim Institute, KC Dey Road, Nandakanan, Amtola and Court Building area.
After five years of the massacre (1992), lawyer Shahidul Huda filed a murder case against 46 perpetrators, including the then CMP commissioner Mirza Rakibul Huda.
In 1996, CID of police was given the charge to investigate the case.  CID submitted a charge sheet on December 12 in 1997. A complementary charge sheet was filed on December 3 in 1998. On May 9 in 2000, the court framed charge against eight of the 46 suspects. All of them were police. Among the convicts, Inspector Govinda Chandra Mondal remained absconding since the case was filed. Other convicts were released on bail in 2003. Two of the accused--constable Bashir Ahmed and Constable Abdus Salam died during trial of the case.
Twenty- four people, who were killed in the police firing, are Hasan Murad, Mohiuddin Shamim, Swapan Kumar Biswas, Albert Gomes, Swapan Chowdhury, Ajit Sarkar, Ramesh Baiddya, Badrul Alam, D K Chowdhury, Sajjad Hussain, Abdul Manna, Sabuj Hussain, Kamal Hussain, B K Das, Pankaj Baiddya, Baharuddin, Chand Mia, Samar Dutt, Hashem Mia, M Kashem, Palash Dutt, Abdul Kuddus, Gobinda Das and Shahadat.