5:22 PM — The Moment Everything Changed
August 21, 2004. A Saturday afternoon in Dhaka. Twenty thousand people packed Bangabandhu Avenue for an Awami League rally protesting terrorism. Sheikh Hasina, then Leader of the Opposition, addressed the crowd from the back of a truck.
At 5:22 PM, as her speech was ending, Abu Jandal hurled the first grenade from a rooftop. Then came the second. Then a third. In less than sixty seconds, 13 military-grade Arges grenades rained down on a civilian crowd from the rooftops of surrounding buildings.
24 people died. Over 500 were injured. Sheikh Hasina survived with permanent hearing damage she carries to this day.
This was not the work of terrorists acting alone. As a court would later rule, it was “a well-orchestrated plan, executed through abuse of state power.”
The grenades were military weapons. The planners sat in the Prime Minister’s office. The cover-up was run by the state itself. And for two years, the government blamed the attack on a pickpocket named Joj Mia.
This is the full timeline — from planning to execution to cover-up to verdict to acquittal.
The Background: Why Hasina Was the Target
By mid-2004, Bangladesh under the BNP-Jamaat coalition was descending into organized chaos. The Chittagong arms haul had been intercepted just four months earlier — 10 truckloads of military weapons bound for Indian insurgents, smuggled under the supervision of intelligence agencies. Transparency International had ranked Bangladesh the most corrupt country on Earth for the third consecutive year.
Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League was the only credible opposition. She had survived assassination attempts before. But the BNP-Jamaat alliance, operating through Tarique Rahman’s parallel power center at Hawa Bhaban and State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfozzaman Babar’s control of the security apparatus, decided that the opposition leader had to be eliminated.
The instrument they chose was Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) — a militant group that had been allowed to operate freely under BNP protection.
The Planning: Meetings at Hawa Bhaban
According to confessional statements given by Mufti Abdul Hannan, the chief of HuJI-Bangladesh, and corroborated by the 2018 court verdict, the attack was planned in a series of meetings at Hawa Bhaban — Tarique Rahman’s political office in Gulshan, Dhaka, which functioned as a parallel government.
The attendees of these planning sessions included:
- Tarique Rahman — Son of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, de facto power center
- Lutfozzaman Babar — State Minister for Home Affairs, with direct control over police and security forces
- Harris Chowdhury — Political Secretary to PM Khaleda Zia
- Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed — Secretary General of Jamaat-e-Islami, then Social Welfare Minister
- Brig Gen (Retd) Abdur Rahim — Director General of National Security Intelligence (NSI)
- Brig Gen (Retd) Rezzakul Haider Chowdhury — Director General of DGFI (military intelligence)
- Kazi Shah Mofazzal Hossain Kaikobad — BNP lawmaker who arranged meetings between HuJI and the planners
The liaison between BNP’s political leadership and HuJI’s operational team was Maulana Tajuddin — the brother of Abdus Salam Pintu, then Deputy Minister for Education. Planning meetings were also held at Pintu’s Dhanmondi residence.
“The specialised deadly Arges grenades that are used in wars were blasted at the Awami League’s central office on 23 Bangabandhu Avenue in broad daylight with the help of the then state machinery.”
— Judge Shahed Nuruddin, Speedy Trial Tribunal-1, October 2018
The Weapons: Military-Grade Arges Grenades
The grenades used in the attack were Arges grenades — military-grade, war-specification fragmentation grenades that are not available in civilian markets anywhere in the world. Their presence on the streets of Dhaka pointed directly to state-level arms procurement channels.
According to the confessional statement of Abdul Majed Bhat (alias Yusuf Bhat), a Pakistani terrorist:
- Muzaffar Ahmad Shah of Pakistan-based Tehrik-e-Jihad Islami (TEJI) originally provided the grenades to Maulana Tajuddin
- Tajuddin was supposed to forward them to Indian militant groups but kept them
- The grenades were later handed over to Mufti Hannan for the operation against Hasina
15 Arges grenades were distributed to a 12-person attack team. 13 were thrown into the crowd. 4 were later recovered intact — crucial physical evidence that would eventually help unravel the conspiracy.
The Day Before: August 20, 2004
On the eve of the attack, HuJI operatives Kajol and Abu Jandal went to Bangabandhu Avenue to scout the attack scene. They mapped rooftop positions, entry and exit routes, and the layout of the rally stage.
The operation had a code name: “Light Snacks for Sheikh Hasina” (Bengali: “Sheikh Hasina Ke Nashta Korano”).
August 21, 2004: Minute by Minute
Morning
The 12 designated attackers met at a house in Badda, a residential neighborhood in eastern Dhaka. They prayed together and had lunch. Maulana Sayeed delivered a sermon on jihad to steel their resolve.
Early Afternoon
Mufti Hannan personally handed over 15 Arges grenades to the 12 attackers. Some carried two.
After Asr Prayers (~4:00 PM)
The attackers regrouped near Golap Shah Mazar, close to the rally site. They took up their assigned positions around the truck-stage and on rooftops of surrounding buildings.
A critical detail: the volunteer security groups — Sechchasebak League and Chhatra League members who normally secured the rooftops at Awami League rallies — were not allowed access. The rooftops had been closed off. This meant state security agencies or their proxies had cleared the way for the attackers to take position.
5:22 PM — The Attack
As Sheikh Hasina finished her speech, the grenades came.
Abu Jandal hurled the first grenade. Within seconds, 12 more followed — a cascade of explosions ripping through a crowd of 20,000 people. At least 16 people died on the spot. The death toll would eventually reach 24. Over 500 people were injured, many grievously.
Sheikh Hasina was shielded by party workers who threw themselves over her. She survived with ear injuries that have caused permanent hearing damage — a condition she lives with to this day.
Immediate Aftermath
What happened next revealed the depth of state complicity:
- Police on duty fired tear gas shells and charged with batons — not at the attackers, but at Awami League members who were rescuing the injured
- The attackers received help from security and intelligence officials to flee the scene
- The BNP government initially refused to hand over the bodies of the victims to their families
The 24 Martyrs
The attack killed 24 Awami League leaders, activists, and supporters. Among them:
Ivy Rahman (née Jebun Nahar Ivy) — Awami League Women’s Affairs Secretary and wife of Zillur Rahman (who would later become President of Bangladesh). She was critically injured on August 21 and died three days later on August 24, making her death even more agonizing for her family and the nation.
Mahbubur Rahman — Sheikh Hasina’s bodyguard, who died shielding her from the grenades.
The remaining 22 victims were local-level party leaders, activists, and ordinary citizens who had come to a peaceful rally — and never went home.
The Cover-Up: A Masterclass in State-Sponsored Obstruction
Step 1: Destroy the Evidence
Within hours of the attack, the entire crime scene was washed with water and detergent — destroying forensic evidence. Recovered grenade fragments were deliberately destroyed rather than preserved for investigation. The Supreme Court Bar Association later accused the government of systematically destroying evidence.
Step 2: Block the Investigation
Bangladesh Police refused to register any criminal case filed by the Awami League. Only a general diary entry was made — a procedural formality with no investigative teeth. The message was clear: there would be no real investigation.
Step 3: The “Joj Mia” Fabrication
This is perhaps the most brazen element of the cover-up.
The BNP government assigned the Crime Investigation Department (CID) to investigate. Rather than pursuing the real perpetrators, CID fabricated an entirely false narrative:
- They claimed that Joj Mia (real name Jamal Ahmed), a petty criminal from Noakhali District, along with 14 others from the “Seven Star” terrorist group led by Subrata Bain, had carried out the attack
- On June 10, 2005, Joj Mia was arrested from his home
- On June 26, 2005, under torture by security forces, he was coerced into giving a false confession under Section 164 to a magistrate
- Another man, Shaibal Saha Partha, was also arrested and tortured in custody, forced to give a false statement. He was eventually released but continues to suffer from post-traumatic stress
The story collapsed when investigative journalism exposed the holes in the official narrative. A pickpocket and a small-time gang did not have access to military-grade Arges grenades.
Step 4: The Sham Judicial Probe
The BNP government formed a one-man judicial commission led by Justice Joynal Abedin. The commission produced a report that absurdly blamed the attack on “foreign and local enemies” — a vague formulation designed to point fingers everywhere except at the government itself.
The Daily Star described Justice Abedin as a “shame” for the judiciary in Bangladesh.
Two years after the commission submitted its report, Justice Abedin was elevated to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court — widely seen as his reward for producing the desired cover story.
Step 5: Run Out the Clock
For two full years (2004-2006), the CID failed to submit charge sheets despite BNP leaders repeatedly claiming the probe was “about to be completed.” The goal was simple: delay until the story faded from public memory.
The Truth Comes Out: Post-1/11 Investigation
Everything changed after January 11, 2007, when the military-backed caretaker government took over from the BNP.
July 2007
Under the new caretaker government, CID initiated a fresh investigation from scratch.
November 2007
Mufti Abdul Hannan — who had been arrested by the BNP government in 2005 but deliberately not linked to the August 21 case — finally revealed the truth:
- The attack was operated by HuJI
- He received operational support from Maulana Tajuddin, brother of BNP’s Abdus Salam Pintu
- Abdus Salam Pintu had direct knowledge of the attack plan
2008
Lead CID investigator Mohammad Javed Patwary concluded that the attack was specifically designed to kill Sheikh Hasina, guided by the shared grievance of both Mufti Hannan and Abdus Salam Pintu against the Awami League leader.
On June 11, 2008, CID submitted charge sheets accusing 22 people, including Mufti Hannan and Abdus Salam Pintu.
2009-2011
The Awami League government, now in power after the December 2008 elections, launched a further investigation under retired CID official Abdul Kahar Akhand.
In 2011, Mufti Hannan gave another confessional statement — this time implicating the full chain of command:
- Tarique Rahman
- Lutfozzaman Babar
- Harris Chowdhury
- Abdus Salam Pintu
- Senior officials of the Home Ministry, Police, DGFI, NSI, and the Prime Minister’s Office
In July 2011, CID submitted a supplementary charge sheet against 30 accused. By March 2012, the tribunal had indicted 52 persons on murder charges.
The 2018 Verdict: Justice Delivered
On October 10, 2018, after years of trial, Judge Shahed Nuruddin of Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 in Dhaka delivered one of the most consequential verdicts in Bangladesh’s history.
19 Sentenced to Death
| # | Name | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lutfozzaman Babar | Former State Minister for Home Affairs |
| 2 | Abdus Salam Pintu | Former Deputy Minister for Education |
| 3 | Maj Gen (Retd) Rezzakul Haider Chowdhury | Former DG of DGFI |
| 4 | Brig Gen (Retd) Abdur Rahim | Former DG of NSI |
| 5 | Maulana Md Tajuddin | HuJI-BNP liaison, brother of Pintu |
| 6 | Md Hanif | Operative |
| 7 | Maulana Sheikh Abdus Salam | Operative |
| 8 | Md Abdul Mazed Bhat (alias Yusuf Bhat) | Pakistani operative |
| 9 | Abdul Malek (alias GM) | Operative |
| 10 | Maulana Shawkat Hossain (alias Sheikh Farid) | Operative |
| 11 | Mahibullah (alias Ovi) | Operative |
| 12 | Maulana Abu Sayeed (alias Jafar) | Operative |
| 13 | Abul Kalam Azad (alias Bulbul) | Operative |
| 14 | Md Jahangir Alam | Operative |
| 15 | Hafiz Maulana Abu Taher | Operative |
| 16 | Hossain Ahmed Tamim | Operative |
| 17 | Main Uddin Sheikh (alias Abu Jandal) | Attack team leader, threw first grenade |
| 18 | Md Rafiqul Iqbal Islam (alias Sabuj) | Operative |
| 19 | Md Ujjal (alias Ratan) | Operative |
19 Sentenced to Life Imprisonment
Including three of the most powerful figures in the conspiracy:
- Tarique Rahman — BNP Senior Vice Chairman, son of PM Khaleda Zia
- Harris Chowdhury — Political Secretary to the Prime Minister
- Kazi Shah Mofazzal Hossain Kaikobad — BNP lawmaker
Additional Sentences
- Former IGPs Ashraful Huda and Shahudul Haque — 2 years for harboring offenders
- Lt Commander (Retd) Saiful Islam Duke (Khaleda Zia’s nephew), Saiful Islam Joarder (former DGFI), and Maj Gen (Retd) ATM Amin (former DGFI) — 4 years for harboring and protecting offenders
- Former IGP Khoda Baksh, SP Ruhul Amin, ASPs Abdur Rashid and Munshi Atikur Rahman — 2 years for misleading the investigation and fabricating the “Joj Mia” story
International Condemnation
The August 21 grenade attack drew immediate international condemnation:
- US President George W. Bush expressed “shock” at the attack — the message was conveyed through Secretary of State Colin Powell
- United Kingdom, Netherlands, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, and Sweden all condemned the attack
- The FBI and Interpol made repeated visits to Bangladesh to provide technical investigative support
Yet despite this international attention, the BNP government continued its cover-up for the remaining two years of its term, brazenly obstructing justice under the world’s gaze.
The 2024 Acquittal: Justice Undone
On December 1, 2024, following the ouster of the Awami League government in the July 2024 uprising, a reconstituted High Court acquitted all 49 accused — including Tarique Rahman, Lutfozzaman Babar, and every person convicted in 2018.
On September 4, 2025, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court dismissed petitions for retrial, upholding the acquittal.
Tarique Rahman — sentenced to life imprisonment for masterminding the assassination attempt that killed 24 people — was cleared of all charges. He returned to Bangladesh and was sworn in as Prime Minister on February 17, 2026.
The 24 victims remain dead. Their families have received no justice. The man whom a court found complicit in their murders now leads the country.
The Pattern
The August 21 grenade attack was not an isolated incident. It was part of a documented pattern of state-sponsored violence under the BNP-Jamaat coalition:
- October 2001: Post-election genocide against Hindus — 18,000+ rapes, 600 women assaulted in Bhola alone
- October 2002 – January 2003: Operation Clean Heart — 44+ killed in custody, 11,000 arrested
- April 2004: Chittagong arms haul — 10 truckloads of weapons for Indian insurgents, smuggled with intelligence agency supervision
- August 2004: This grenade attack — 24 killed, 500+ injured, state-run cover-up
- August 2005: JMB bombed 63 districts in a single day under state protection
Each crime was followed by the same playbook: fabricate a scapegoat, obstruct the investigation, protect the real perpetrators, and run out the clock.
And in 2024, the clock finally ran out — on justice itself.
Sources
- Speedy Trial Tribunal-1, Dhaka — Verdict of October 10, 2018 (Judge Shahed Nuruddin)
- Human Rights Watch — “Bangladesh: Political Violence on All Sides” (2008)
- BBC News — Coverage of the August 21, 2004 attack and subsequent trials
- The Daily Star — Extensive reporting on the investigation, trial, and verdict (2004-2018)
- AFP — Reporting on Mufti Hannan’s confessions and court proceedings
- US Department of State — Statement of President George W. Bush condemning the attack
- International Crisis Group — Asia Reports on Bangladesh’s political violence
- Amnesty International — Documentation of political violence in Bangladesh
- Supreme Court Bar Association investigation findings on evidence destruction
- CID charge sheets and supplementary charge sheets (2008, 2011)
- Appellate Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh — September 4, 2025 ruling
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