National
Nation Grieves 19th Anniversary of Dreadful August 21 Grenade Attack
The nation solemnly commemorates the 19th anniversary of the horrific August 21 grenade attack on an Awami League rally in Dhaka, standing united against such acts of terror through a series of planned activities.
On this day in 2004, a brutal grenade assault targeted an anti-terrorism rally organized by the Awami League at Bangabandhu Avenue. The then-leader of the opposition and current Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, appeared to be the intended victim during the tenure of the BNP-Jamaat alliance government.
The attack resulted in the tragic loss of at least 24 lives, including Ivy Rahman, Awami League’s women affairs secretary and the late President Zillur Rahman’s wife. Additionally, around 300 individuals sustained injuries, while Sheikh Hasina survived with impaired hearing.
After fourteen years, a Dhaka court rendered verdicts in the grenade attack case, sentencing 19 individuals, including Lutfozzaman Babar, the state minister for home affairs under the then BNP government, to death. Tarique Rahman, the eldest son of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia and the party’s acting chairman, along with 18 others, were handed life sentences for their roles in the attack.
In observance of this day, the Awami League and its affiliated groups have organized comprehensive programs across the nation. A wreath-laying ceremony will pay homage to the martyrs of the grenade attack, taking place at the memorial erected in front of the party’s Bangabandhu Avenue office in Dhaka at 11 am. Subsequently, a commemorative discussion will commence at 11:15 am, presided over by Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Simultaneously, Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader has called upon leaders, activists, supporters, and well-wishers at all levels to join the country in observing the Grenade Attack Day on August 21.
The grenade attack claimed the lives of notable individuals such as Lance Corporal (retd) Mahbubur Rashid, personal security guard to the then-opposition leader, and several others, leaving an indelible impact. Injuries were also sustained by prominent figures like Amir Hossain Amu, Abdur Razzak, Suranjit Sengupta, and many more.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) has forecasted light to moderate rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty winds at most places across the Rangpur, Rajshahi, Mymensingh, Dhaka, Khulna, Barishal, Chattogram, and Sylhet divisions. Some areas may experience moderately heavy to very heavy rainfall, according to their latest weather bulletin released on Thursday.
Day and night temperatures are expected to remain nearly unchanged across the country.
The highest rainfall in the country over the past 24 hours was recorded in Kumarkhali, with 104mm of rain by 6 a.m. on Thursday.
The axis of the monsoon trough extends from India’s Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal to Assam, passing through Bangladesh, with one of its associated troughs stretching into the North Bay of Bengal.
The monsoon remains active over Bangladesh and moderate to strong over the North Bay region.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) has forecasted that the mild heat wave currently affecting parts of the country, including the capital, is expected to subside in most areas within the next 24 hours, starting from 9 am today.
“A mild heat wave is sweeping across the divisions of Rangpur, Rajshahi, Dhaka, Mymensingh, and Sylhet, as well as the districts of Jashore, Chuadanga, and Kushtia. It is likely to ease in most regions,” the department reported.
In addition, BMD predicted light to moderate rainfall or thundershowers, accompanied by temporary gusty winds, across most of Rangpur, Rajshahi, Dhaka, Mymensingh, Khulna, Barishal, Chattogram, and Sylhet divisions. Some areas are expected to experience moderate to very heavy rainfall.
Temperatures across the country may drop by 1-2 degrees Celsius during both day and night.
On Monday, Dinajpur in the Rangpur division recorded the country’s highest temperature at 38.6°C, while Bandarban in the Chattogram division saw the lowest temperature at 24.6°C early today.
Meanwhile, rainfall recorded in the past 24 hours, ending at 6 am today, reached 66 mm in Nikli of Dhaka Division.
The sunset in Dhaka is at 5:53 pm today, and sunrise is expected at 5:49 am tomorrow.
Two separate murder cases were filed today in connection with the deaths of a private service holder and a Madrasa student during the anti-discrimination student movement.
The first case was lodged by Ridwan Ahmed with Panchlaish police station, accusing former ministers Dr. Hasan Mahmud, Barrister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Naufel, and 127 others for the death of his nephew Sujan, 14. Sujan, the son of Belal Hossain from Beramara village in Noakhali’s Sadar Thana, was a student at Al Jamirul Hayat Madrasa in the city’s Chandgaon area. He was fatally shot in the Muradpur area on July 18.
The second case was filed by Jamal Uddin at Doublemooring police station, accusing 225 individuals, including Dr. Hasan Mahmud and Education Minister Barrister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Naufel, for the killing of his elder brother Alam, a private service holder, on August 5.
