Mufti Hannan among 8 to hang for Ramna Batamul bomb attack

Banned outfit Harkatul Jihad (HuJi)’s top leader Mufti Abdul Hannan and 7 other people have been sentenced to death in the case over the 2001 Ramna Batamul bomb attack. Six other people have been sentenced to life in prison in the case. Ruhul Amin, the judge of Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s court, Dhaka, delivered the judgment on Monday. Those sentenced to death other than Mufti Hannan are Maulana Akbar Hossain, Arif Hossain Sumon, Maulana Tajuddin, Hafiz Jahangir Alam Badr, Maulana Abu Bakr alias Hafiz Selim Hawladar, Maulana Abdul Hai and Maulana Shafiqur Rahman. Shahadatullah Jewel, Maolana Sabbir, Shaokat Hossain alias Sheikh Farid, Maolana Abdur Rauf, Maolana Abu Taher and Maolana Yahia have been awarded life in prison. Tajuddin, Jahangir, Abu Bakr, Shafiqur and Abdul Hai are absconding. A bomb exploded during the Pahela Baishakh celebrations at the Ramna Batamul on April 14, 2001, killing over a dozen people, injuring 100 others, according to a news agency.