The Crime Desk: On this day, August 21, 2004, there was a terrible grenade attack on the rally of the then opposition Awami League at Bangabandhu Avenue in the capital. Although Awami League president Sheikh Hasina survived the attack, 24 leaders and activists, including party leader Ivy Rahman, died.
Wreaths were offered every year at the Shaheed Bedi built in front of the Awami League central office at Bangabandhu Avenue in memory of those killed in the attack. The ousted party Awami League has not announced any program this time. Every year the meeting is held, but this time it is not happening.
On that day, the Awami League organized a rally against terrorism at Bangabandhu Avenue. The party’s top leaders were giving speeches on an open platform built in an open truck in front of the Awami League’s central office.
At around 5 pm, the then opposition leader, Awami League president Sheikh Hasina, came to the rally venue in a bulletproof car. He gave a speech for about 20 minutes. The time was 5:22 PM. After saying ‘Jai Bangla, Jai Bangabandhu’, he folded a piece of paper in his hand and proceeded towards the steps to get down from the truck. Some photojournalists asked Sheikh Hasina to stand for a while to take pictures. The grenade attack started immediately. Bangabandhu Avenue shook with the sound of explosions.
At that time, the party leaders and Sheikh Hasina’s personal bodyguards immediately formed a human circle and saved Sheikh Hasina from the grenades, sustaining injuries themselves. Sheikh Hasina narrowly survived the attack.
In that incident, 24 people were killed, including the late President Zillur Rahman’s wife and Awami League’s then women’s affairs secretary Ivy Rahman. Others killed are security guards Lance Corporal (retd) Mahbubur Rashid, Abul Kalam Azad, Regina Begum, Nasir Uddin Sardar, Atiq Sarkar, Abdul Quddus Patwari, Aminul Islam Moazzem, Belal Hossain, Mamun Mridha, Ratan Shikder, Liton Munshi, Hasina Mumtaz Rina. , Sufia Begum, Rafiqul Islam (Ginger uncle), Mushtaq Ahmed Sentu, Mohammad Hanif, Abul Kashem, Zaheed Ali, Momen Ali, M. Shamsuddin, Isaac Miah, and others.
