August 21 grenade attack
Investigation should be concluded and trial held
Three years into the August 21 grenade attack on an Awami League public meeting, progress in the investigation is still unclear while the families of the dead and the victims of the mayhem who were maimed and disabled continue to live their lives in agony and dire distress. It is shocking as to how vested quarters in the previous government had manipulated and derailed the investigation process, thereby blocking the path of justice. The so-called one-man commission report into the heinous attack that killed as many as 22 and injured 200 failed to point fingers at the possible culprits and perpetrators. It was content with merely making vague allegation of a 'foreign link'. No less than the top investigator of the case, a senior CID official, now says, "We never saw the report and the government never informed us about it". As a matter of fact, all that the officials concerned and high profile spokesmen of the past regime did was to make all kinds of statements that were simply confusing and made matters even murkier
The 21 August grenade attack is one of the most horrific of terrorist acts in the country since liberation. The best way we could redress the grievances of the victims, at least to some extent, is to promptly complete the investigations and bring the culprits to book.
We urge the government to give top priority to completing the process of investigation with all the neutrality and impartiality it commands. The investigation, needless to say, must be flawless and contain nothing but the whole truth. It should basically identify and address the gaps and lapses that have occurred as a result of undue interference or manipulation on the part of political functionaries and government officials of the past regime.
Bringing the investigations to expeditious conclusion with trial held and conviction delivered is no less important than the anti-corruption drive; for it has implications for the security and image of the country.
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