Staff correspondent :

The ruling Awami League and its associate bodies have chalked out elaborate programme marking the 19th anniversary of the gruesome grenade attack on an anti-terrorism rally of the then opposition party Awami League in the capital on August 21, 2004.

Party leaders and workers will pay glowing tributes to the grenade attack martyrs by placing wreaths at the altar built in memory of the martyrs in front of the party’s Bangabandhu Avenue centre office here at 11am.

Prime Minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina will pay tributes by placing wreaths at the altar on the occasion.

Later, a discussion will be held at the AL central office. Prime Minister and AL President Sheikh Hasina will chair it.

Awami Swechchhasebak League will pay homage and hold a torch-light vigil at 5.21 pm recalling the memories of August 21 martyrs. Krishak League will hold a discussion and doa mahfil.

On August 23, Mahila Awami League will hold a discussion on the death anniversary of Ivy Rahman, one of the martyrs of August 21 attack and former president of Mohila Awami League.

On August 24, Awami League, its Dhaka city south and north units and associate bodies will pay tributes to Ivy Rahman by placing wreaths at her grave in Banani graveyard at 9am.

Jatiya Sramik League will hold a memorial meeting in Tejgaon Industrial area at 3pm marking the death anniversary of Ivy Rahman on that day.

On August 21 in 2004 during the BNP-Jamaat coalition government, this ghastly attack was carried out on a peaceful anti-terrorism rally in front of AL’s Bangabandhu Avenue central office.

The party leaders and activists formed a human shield to protect the then opposition leader and incumbent Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Bangabandhu’s daughter Sheikh Hasina miraculously survived the infernal grenade attack that day.

But, 24 people including the then Women Affairs Secretary of Awami League and wife of late President Zillur Rahman were killed and over 500 others injured in the attack and many of them became crippled for life.

Those others killed in the barbaric grenade attack included the then opposition leader’s personal security guard Lance Corporal (retd) Mahbubur Rashid, Abul Kalam Azad, Rezina Begum, Nasir Uddin Sardar, Atique Sarkar, Abdul Kuddus Patwari, Aminul Islam Moazzem, Belal Hossain, Mamun Mridha, Ratan Shikdar, Liton Munshi, Hasina Mamtaz Reena, Sufia Begum, Rafiqul Islam (Ada Chacha), Mostaque Ahmed Sentu, Md Hanif, Abul Kashem, Zahed Ali, Momen Ali, M Shamsuddin and Ishaque Miah.

Prominent among those who suffered serious splinter injuries included Sheikh Hasina, Amir Hossain Amu, Abdur Razzak, Suranjit Sengupta, Obaidul Quader, Advocate Sahara Khatun, Mohammad Hanif, Prof Abu Sayeed and AFM Bahauddin Nasim.

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