The BNP and its affiliated organizations held a jubilant rally in Dhaka on Sunday afternoon, following the High Court verdict acquitting the party's acting chairman Tarique Rahman and other leaders in the August 21 Grenade Attack case.
Thousands of party leaders and activists participated in the rally, which began at the BNP’s central office in Naya Paltan and concluded after parading through nearby streets. The event was led by senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.
Key participants included joint secretary general Abdus Salam Azad, volunteer affairs secretary Mir Sarafat Ali Sapu, Dhaka South BNP convener Rafiqul Islam Majnu, member secretary Tanvir Ahmed Robin, Jubo Dal president M Monayem Munna, general secretary Nurul Islam Nayan, Sechhasebak Dal general secretary Rajib Ahsan, and Chhatra Dal general secretary Nasir Uddin Nasir, among others.
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The High Court’s ruling overturned the previous judgment of the trial court, which had sentenced 19 individuals, including Tarique Rahman, to life imprisonment and handed down the death penalty to 19 others, including former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar. Eleven police and military officials had also received varying jail terms in the case.
The grenade attack, carried out 20 years ago on an anti-terrorism rally organized by the Awami League at Dhaka's Bangabandhu Avenue, had left 24 dead and scores injured.