Bangladesh court acquits Zia's son and 48 others convicted in 2004 deadly grenade attack
Dhaka (AP/PTI): Bangladesh's High Court on Sunday acquitted former prime minister Khaleda Zia's son, Tarique Rahman, and 48 others, overturning their verdicts in a deadly 2004 grenade attack on a political rally.
The ruling comes at a critical time as the South Asian country suffers political tension after longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country to India in August following a mass uprising that left hundreds dead.
Rahman serves as the acting chairperson of Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party while in self-exile in London, and could become Bangladesh's next leader if his party is voted into power.
Rahman and the 48 others were found guilty in 2018 in the attack targeting a rally held by supporters of Hasina, who led the opposition at the time, leaving two dozen people dead and wounding about 300 others. A court sentenced 19 of them to death while Rahman got life in prison, with Zia's party accusing the ruling counterpart of being politically motivated.
A two-member judge panel scrapped Sunday the entire 2018 ruling for all 49 men, following an appeal lodged by the defendants. Shishir Monir, a defence lawyer, told reporters the court declared the trial and verdict “illegal.”
“As a result, all defendants have been acquitted,” he said.
Zia, who ruled the country as prime minister between 2001-2006, and Hasina are the country's most powerful politicians and longtime rivals.
Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus has been the country's interim leader since Hasina left, but authorities have been struggling to enforce order amid mob justice, chaos and claims of systematic targeting of minority groups, particularly Hindus, which Yunus said are "exaggerated."
Hasina's Awami League party blasted the court ruling in a Facebook post on Sunday, saying it wasn't “Yunus' Kangaroo court" and that the people of Bangladesh would be the ones trying those responsible for the attacks.
Zia's party welcomed Sunday's ruling.
The attorney general's office can appeal the ruling in the Supreme Court.
The Yunus-led government has not declared any timeframe for the next election, but Rahman and his party want the new election sometime soon.
Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami party, which shared power with Zia's party in 2001-2006 with important portfolios in the Cabinet, said it wants to allow the Yunus-led government to stay in power to bring in reforms in various sectors before a new election.
Hasina faces charges of crimes against humanity for deaths during the summer's student-led uprising. The interim government has sought help from Interpol to arrest Hasina. It is not clear if India will respond to any request from Bangladesh for Hasina's extradition under a mutual treaty.
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Punjab CM condemns attack on Sukhbir Badal, lauds cops for prompt action
Chandigarh (PTI): Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann strongly condemned the attack on Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal, who was fired at while performing 'sewa' outside the Golden Temple on Wednesday morning, and directed police to investigate the incident.
The chief minister also lauded the promptness of the Punjab Police in nabbing the attacker.
The man missed Badal as he was overpowered by police. The audacious attack was captured on cameras of media persons who had gathered outside the Sikh shrine to cover the second day of Badal's penance for "mistakes" committed by the SAD government in Punjab from 2007 to 2017.
"Punjab Police prevented a major incident from happening today. It is the result of the promptness of the Punjab Police that the conspiracy to defame Punjab and Punjabis has failed," Mann said in a post on X.
"The police achieved great success by arresting the assailant on the spot with their promptness... I strongly condemn the attack on Sukhbir Badal ji. I have issued strict instructions to the police to immediately investigate the incident and submit a report," he added.
Police identified the shooter as Narain Singh Chaura, a resident of Dera Baba Nanak. After the attack, he was whisked away by security officials.
Television footage showed the shooter slowly walking towards Badal, who was sitting in a wheelchair due to a fractured leg, and pulling out a gun from his pocket. A police official in plainclothes standing near Badal quickly intervened and grabbed the attacker's hands. In the melee, a bullet hit the wall behind Badal, who escaped unhurt.
