A Satkhira court has taken the testimony of five witnesses in the case of attack on the convoy of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Kalaroa, Satkhira on August 30, 2002.
In the court of Satkhira Chief Judicial Magistrate Humayun Kabir, Sheikh Hasina's traveling companions Jubaidul Haque Russell, Fatema Zaman Sathi, photojournalist Shahidul Islam Jiban, Awami League leader Principal Abu Ahmed and Sardar Mujib gave testimony in the presence of the accused.
Satkhira District and Sessions Judge Court Public Prosecutor Adv. Abdul Latif said five witnesses testified in the court on the 123rd working day of the case.
However, the lawyers of the accused are not cross-examining the witnesses as the day of leave to appeal hearing has been fixed in the Chamber Judge Court of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. He added that the court has taken the testimony of 15 out of 30 witnesses in the case.
On August 30, 2002, the then opposition leader the current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited the violated wife of a freedom fighter at Satkhira Sadar Hospital. On the way back to Dhaka from the hospital, her convoy was attacked in front of the Kalaroa BNP office in Satkhira.
Former general secretary of Upazila Awami League Bir Muktijoddha Moslem Uddin became the plaintiff of the case.
The case was filed with at Kalaroa police station on October 15, 2014, a decade after the court order. On May 17, 2015, Sheikh Safiqul Islam, the investigating officer of the case, submitted a supplementary charge sheet accusing 30 people, including Habibul Islam Habib, former president of district BNP and former MP of Satkhira 1 constituency.
After taking the testimony of 9 witnesses in the Satkhira Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court, on September 21, 2016, the High Court ordered to stay the proceedings of the case on the appeal of the accused. Following the plea of the state lawyers, the High Court on October 22 this year revoked the stay order and directed the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court to dispose of the case within 90 days of receiving the documents. Judicial proceedings in the case are continuing as per that directive.
