Four BNP men sent to jail in Satkhira

SATKHIRA, July 1 (UNB): A court sent on Wednesday four BNP men, including Kalaroa municipality mayor Aktarul Islam, to jail in connection with the attack on the convoy of the then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina in Kolaroa upazila on August 30, 2002.
Rejecting the bail petitions of the BNP men, District and Sessions Judge Joardar Mohammad Amirul Islam sent them to jail when they surrendered before the court on Wednesday afternoon.
The four BNP men are Kalaroa municipality mayor and BNP's student affairs secretary Aktarul Islam, general secretary of Kalaroa upazila unit BNP Abdur Rakib, its joint secretary Mafizul Islam and Altaf Hossain.
According to the case statement, on August 30, 2002, the convoy of Sheikh Hasina came under attack allegedly by BNP leaders and activist on Satkhira-Jessore road in Kolaroa upazila while she was visiting the district to console a violated housewife on August 30, 2002.
The attackers fired gunshots to kill Hasina but she survived the assassination attempt while others accompanying her sustained injuries.
Several journalists were also assaulted during the incident.
Failing to lodge a case with the local thana, freedom fighter commander and Awami League leader Moslem Uddin filed a case with a Satkhira magistrate's court against 27 BNP men in connection with the gun attack.
The case was dismissed after former MP Habibul Islam Habib and several local journalists gave deposition before the court that no incident of attack on the convoy of Sheikh Hasina took place in Sakhira.
In 2013, the plaintiff filed a petition with the High Court (HC) seeking re-investigation into the incident and the HC then sent the matter to the lower court.
As per the lower court order, a case was filed against 27 people with Kalaroa thana on October 27, 2014, twelve years after the incident.
On May 05, police submitted charge sheet against 50 people, including former local MP Habibul Islam Habib, in connection with the attack.