The High Court (HC) has reduced the sentences of Maulana Tajuddin who were sentenced to death in the Ramna Batamul bomb attack case, to life imprisonment while upholding the life imprisonment of Shahadat Ullah Jewel.
The sentences of the nine other accused convicted in the case have been reduced to 10 years in prison and a fine of Tk 50,000 each.
The High Court bench of Justice Mostafa Zaman Islam and Justice Nasrin Akter delivered the verdict on Tuesday after a hearing on death references and appeals submitted by the convicts in the case.
Lawyers SM Shahjahan and Mohammad Shishir Monir represented the accused in the court. Deputy Attorney General Sultana Akter Rubi represented the state.
The accused sentenced to 10 years in prison by the High Court are -- Akbar Hossain, Arif Hasan, Hafez Jahangir Alam Badar, Abu Bakr alias Hafez Selim Howlader, Abdul Hai, Shafiqur Rahman, Sabbir, Sheikh Farid and Abu Taher.
Meanwhile, the main accused, Mufti Hannan, who was sentenced to death in the murder case of former British High Commissioner Anwar Chowdhury, was hanged on April 12, 2017. In addition, Abdur Rauf and Yahiya, who were sentenced to life imprisonment in the judge's court, died while their appeals were pending in the High Court. Due to this, the names of these three were dropped from the case. The High Court gave its verdict on the remaining 11 people on Tuesday.
On April 14, 2001, a bomb attack took place at a Pahela Baishakh ceremony in Ramna Batamul. Nine people were killed on the spot. One died later in the hospital. Sergeant Amal Chandra Chanda of Nilkhet police outpost filed two cases under the murder and explosives acts at Ramna police station on the same day.
The case filed in this incident became known as the Ramna bomb attack case. After the trial court's verdict in the case, the death references of the accused came to the High Court in 2014 for approval. On the other hand, the convicted accused in prison filed jail appeals and regular appeals.
The death reference and appeal were listed on the agenda of the High Court bench on December 8 last year for hearing.
