Director of National Security Intelligence Brigadier General (retired) Abdur Rahim had gone to Hawa Bhaban few days before the grenade attack on an Awami League rally on August 21 in 2004.
Yousuf Hossain, an assistant director of NSI, said this while giving his deposition as the 66th prosecution witness of the cases before the Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 in Dhaka.
Abdur Rahim went to Hawa Bhaban in a day between August 12 and 21 in 2004 while he was undergoing treatment at Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Yousuf said.
Judge Shahed Nuruddin recorded the statement of Yousuf and fixed Monday as the next date of hearing in the cases.
In his statement, Yousuf told the court that Abdur Rahim was admitted to the CMH on August 12 where he stayed till August 25 for Haemorrhoids treatment.
The NSI assistant director was assigned to take care of the director at the CMH.
Around 4:30pm on August 21, 2004, Yousuf came to know over his walky-talky that a grenade attack had been carried out on an AL rally at Bangabandhu Avenue.
Yousuf also came to know that many AL leaders and activists including Ivy Rahman died in the attack and informed it to Abdur Rahim.
When Yousuf told Abdur Rahim about the attack, he (Abdur Rahim) wanted to know whether Sheikh Hasina was all right.
In reply, Yousuf told him that Hasina narrowly escaped the attack, but she sustained injuries in her left ear.
Source: The Daily Star
