The High Court today acquitted all 47 accused, including nine individuals sentenced to death, in the case related to the 1994 attack on a train carrying the then-opposition leader, Sheikh Hasina, in Ishwardi.

The court also overturned the lower court's judgment, which had sentenced nine people to death, 25 to life imprisonment, and 13 others to 10 years in prison. The HC ordered the immediate release of the accused who were still imprisoned.

The verdict was delivered by the HC bench of Justice Muhammad Mahbub Ul Islam and Justice Md Hamidur Rahman, following a hearing on the death reference and appeals filed by the convicted individuals. Advocate Maksud Ullah, a defense lawyer, informed The Daily Star that the HC acquitted the accused because the allegations against them were not proven.

There was no eyewitness testimony in the case, and those who had testified as witnesses before the magistrate were reportedly affiliated with a particular political party—the Awami League.

Sheikh Hasina, who later served as the country’s Prime Minister for 15 years, was unharmed in the attack, which occurred on September 23, 1994, when she was traveling from Khulna to Saidpur by train. The train came under attack at Paksey station in Ishwardi, with crude bombs thrown and shots fired, continuing until the train reached Ishwardi station. While many were injured, Hasina remained unhurt.

Nazrul Islam, the then officer-in-charge of Ishwardi General Railway Police Station, had filed a case against five members of the BNP and its allied bodies after the attack. 

On July 3, 2019, a Pabna court had sentenced the accused under the Explosives Substances Act, 1908.

The nine individuals sentenced to death included: AKM Akteruzzaman, former president of Ishwardi municipality BNP unit; Zakaria Pintu, general secretary of the BNP unit; Mokhlesur Rahman Bablu, former general secretary of the BNP unit and ex-mayor of Ishwardi municipality; Rezaul Karim Shahin, former leader of Ishwardi Government College Chhatra Dal unit; Azizur Rahman Shahin, convener of Ishwardi upazila Jubo Dal; and local BNP activists Shahidul Islam Atal, Shyamol, Mahabubur Rahman Polash, and Shamsul Alam. They were also fined Tk 5 lakh each.