Four BNP leaders who were recently acquitted of death sentence by the High Court were released from Rajshahi jail today. Photo : BSS

RAJSHAHI, Feb 11, 2025 (BSS)- Four BNP leaders, who were acquitted from the death penalty by the High Court recently, were released from Rajshahi jail today.

The released persons are BNP central committee member and former Mayor of Ishwardi Pourashava Mukhlesur Rahman alias Bablu, district BNP former general secretary KM Akhtaruzzaman, poura BNP former office secretary Azizur Rahman alias Shaheen and local BNP leader Shamsul Alam.

On February 5, the High Court acquitted them from the charge of attempting to assassinate Sheikh Hasina. 

Upon their release, local leaders and activists of BNP and its front organisations greeted them at the jail gate with flowers.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Ishwardi Railway (GRP) Police Station filed a case against seven people, including Ishwardi Municipality BNP General Secretary Zakaria Pintu, on charges of carrying out attack on Sheikh Hasina at Ishwardi Rail Station on 23 September, 1994 while she was going to Syedpur from Khulna via Ishwardi by a train. 

Later, CID filed a charge sheet against 52 people.

 On July 3, 2019, Pabna Additional District and Sessions Judge Rostam Ali awarded death penalty to nine, including the four released leaders, life-term imprisonment to 25 and 10 years of rigorous imprisonment to 13 others. Along with this, the life convicts were fined Tk 3 lakh and the 10-year convicts were fined Tk 1 lakh each. All the convicted persons are leaders and workers of BNP. 

After the verdict of the trial court, the death reference of the death-row convicts came to the High Court. 

On February 5, after hearing the death reference and the appeal, filed by the convicts, the court acquitted them from the charges.