The 2001 Bagerhat bombing was a bomb attack on 23 September 2001 in Mollahat, Bagerhat District, Bangladesh. It took place at Khalilur Rahman Degree College during an

Awami League In Urdu language, Awami is the adjectival form for ''Awam Awam ( ur, ) is the Urdu language word for common people or general public. In the early 20th century, the word was extensively used in the Indian subcontinent to refer to the general po ...

election rally led by Member of Parliament Sheikh Helal Uddin, and resulted in the death of nine people.

Attacks

The

caretaker government A caretaker government is a temporary ''ad hoc'' government that performs some governmental duties and functions in a country until a regular government is elected or formed. Depending on specific practice, it usually consists of either randomly se ...

had taken charge and had started to make preparations for the 2001 general elections in Bangladesh. In 2001, a number of

events were bombed by suspected Islamist terrorists. Sheikh Helal Uddin, cousin of Prime Minister

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina Wazed (''née'' Sheikh Hasina ; ; bn, শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ, Shēkh Hasinā, , born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh since January 2 ...

, was speaking at an Awami League election rally at Khalilur Rahman Degree College ground in

Mollahat Upazila Mollahat ( bn, মোল্লাহাট) is an upazila of Bagerhat District in the Division of Khulna, Bangladesh. History Mollahat Thana was established in 1967 and was turned into an upazila in 1983. During the War of Liberation (1971) a ba ...

Bagerhat District Bagerhat District ( bn, বাগেরহাট, pron: ''bageɾɦaʈ'') is a district in south-western Bangladesh. It is a part of the Khulna Division. Geography Bagerhat district has a total area of 3959.11 square kilometres. It is bounded by ...

. Two bombs were thrown which killed 9 people and injured more than 100 people.

Trial

A case was filed following the attack, the proceedings of which were stopped on 19 April 2004 during the

Bangladesh Nationalist Party The Bangladesh Nationalist Party ( bn, বাংলাদেশ জাতীয়তাবাদী দল, Bangladesh Jātīyotābādī Dol; BNP) is a centre-right to right-wing nationalist, political party in Bangladesh and one of the maj ...

rule. The Home Ministry reopened the case after the Awami League returned to power. After an investigation by the

Criminal Investigation Department The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is distinct from its Special Branch (though officers of ...

, charges were pressed against six individuals on 21 August 2011. The accused were

Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami Bangladesh Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami Bangladesh, [] is the Bangladeshi branch of the terrorist group Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI). It is banned in Bangladesh and is a Proscribed Organisation in the United Kingdom under the Terrorism Act 2000. HuJI also ...

chief

Mufti Hannan Mufti Abdul Hannan (died 12 April 2017) was a Bangladeshi terrorist and the chief of Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami Bangladesh. He was sentenced to death by hanging for multiple crimes and executed on 12 April 2017. Career Hannan is thought to have ...

; the former president the of Mollahat branch of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Badsha Mia Shikdar; and

Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen ("Assembly of Mujahideen--Bangladesh", abbreviated: JMB; bn, জামাত-উল-মুজাহিদীন বাংলাদেশ) is a terrorist organisation operating in Bangladesh. It is listed as a terror group by ...

activists Arifuzzaman, Zillur Rahman, Hafez Mohammad Rakib Hasan, and Abu Taleb.

References

2001 murders in Bangladesh History of Bangladesh (1971–present) Terrorist incidents in Bangladesh in 2001 Terrorist incidents in Bangladesh Islamic terrorist incidents in 2001 Mass murder in 2001 Terrorism in Bangladesh {{Bangladesh-stub