Nation pays tributes to martyrs of Aug 21 grenade attack

The nation today recalled with a heavy heart the savage August 21 grenade attack of 2004 paying homage to the martyrs of the carnage. 

Marking the 12th anniversary of the grenade attack on an Awami League (AL) rally, the ruling AL, its associate bodies and its left-leaning allies, and other political parties, social-cultural and professional organisations placed wreaths at the temporary memorial erected at the spot of the occurrence at Bangabandhu Avenue in the city paying deep homage to the martyrs.

On August 21 in 2004, the gruesome grenade attack was launched on an anti-terrorism public rally of AL at Bangabandhu Avenue in the capital during the rule of BNP-Jamaat alliance government aiming to eliminate the party leadership.

The then opposition leader and incumbent Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and other front-ranking leaders of AL escaped the carnage. But 24 leaders and workers of AL, its associate bodies including the then Mahila AL president Ivy Rahman, wife of late President Zillur Rahman, were killed.

About 400 others suffered splinter injuries in the attack and many of them became crippled for life.

Though Sheikh Hasina narrowly escaped the attack, she lost her hearing ability due to the impact of the repeated grenade blasts near the truck-dais of the huge public rally. 

AL leaders including the then mayor of Dhaka City late Mohammad Hanif and the leader of the opposition Sheikh Hasina's personal security squad saved their party chief forming a human shield.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina placed wreath at the temporary memorial at Bangabandhu Avenue at 4 pm. She placed wreath once again as the AL chief along with party leaders and activists.

The ruling 14-party alliance led by its spokesperson and AL Presidium Member Mohammad Nasim and Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Sayeed Khokan also placed wreaths at that time.

AL General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam and other leaders, including Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed, Begum Matia Chawdhury, Engineer Mosharraf Hossain, Mahbub-ul Alam Hanif, Advocate Jahangir Kabir Nanok, Dr. Hasan Mahmud, Advocate Azfal Hossain and Mirza Azam were present on the occasion, among others.

After placing wreaths, the Prime Minister offered a munajat seeking for eternal peace of the departed souls of Bangabandhu and other martyrs of August 15 in 1975, jail killing of November 3 in 1975 and August 21 grenade attack in 2004.

Then the Prime minister delivered a speech and talked to the family members of grenade attack victims.

After her departure from the venue, AL front organizations and other political, social and cultural bodies placed wreaths at the memorial.

Source: BSS