Judge Mohammad Monzurul Bachhid of the Fourth Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court rejected the discharge petitions filed by the defence lawyers of the five accused and framed charges against them.

Accused Taher Uddin Thakur, Lt Col Syed Farook Rahman, Lt Col Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, Lt Col Muhiuddin Ahmed and Major Bazlul Huda pleaded not guilty and demanded justice before the court after the judge read out the charges against them.

The judge fixed January 25, 2007 for trial of the case and issued summons upon the complainant to appear before the court on that date.

Fourteen people were killed by artillery fire on August 15, 1975 night at Mohammadpur when Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated along with most of his family members in a bloody military putsch.

The military personnel's, who were taking part in the putsch, artillery fire hit two housed in Mohammadpur and left 14 people dead.

On the fateful night over 30 years ago, the army personnel who took part in the Bangabandhu killing operation also killed Habibur Rahman, Anwara Begum-1, Anwara Begum-2, Moyful Bibi, Sabera Begum, Abdullah, Rafiqul, Safia Khatun, Shahabuddin, Kasheda, Aminuddin, Honufa Bibi, Rezia Begum and her daughter Nasima in Mohammadpur.

On November 29, 1996, Mohammad Ali, a resident of Sher Shah Suri Road, Mohammadpur, who was injured in the attack, filed the case with Mohammadpur Police Station against Lt Col Syed Farook Rahman, Lt Col Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, Major Bazlul Huda, Lt Col Khondaker Abdur Rashid, Lt Col Shariful Haq Dalim, Lt Col SHMB Noor Chowdhury, Maj AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed, Lt Col Abdul Aziz Pasha, Capt Abdul Majed, Capt Mohammad Kismat Hashem and Lt Col MA Rashed Chowdhury.

The Criminal Investigation Department on April 30, 2001 pressed charges against 18 people. Of them, Lt Col Syed Farook Rahman, Lt Col Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, Lt Col Muhiuddin Ahmed and Major Bazlul Huda are now in Dhaka Central Jail.

The absconding accused are Resalder Moslehuddin, Lt Col Khondaker Abdur Rashid, Lt Col Shariful Haq Dalim, Lt Col SHMB Noor Chowdhury, Maj AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed and Lt Col AM Rashed Chowdhury, Maj Ahmed Shariful Hossain, Lt Col Abdul Aziz Pasha, Capt Abdul Majed, Capt Mohammad Kismat Hasem, Capt Nazmul Hossain, Dafadar Marfat Ali Shah and Dafadar Mohammad Abdul Hashem Mridha. Of them, Aziz Pasha died in Zimbabwe in 2002.

Former minister Taher Uddin Thakur, the lone civilian accused in the case, is now on bail.

Assistant Public Prosecutor Shahidul Islam Sardar appeared for the state while Syed Mizanur Rahman and Shahin Islam Sabu defended the accused.