A Dhaka court yesterday cleared BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and 25 other leaders and activists of the BNP-led 20-party alliance of arson charges in a case filed over a bomb attack on a bus in the city.

The other BNP leaders include Goyeswar Chandra Roy, Mirza Abbas, Mahbub Uddin Khokon and Amanullah Aman.

Judge Md Kamrul Hossain Mollah of the Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court passed the order after the investigating officer (IO) of the case appealed to the court to clear the 26 of the charges.

On January 3, 2014, some criminals hurled a petrol bomb at a bus in the capital's Paribagh around 6:45am, leaving a passenger killed and several others injured.

Ramna police on that night filed a case in this regard under Anti-Terrorism Act, 2009, accusing unnamed people.

Law enforcers later picked up Fakhrul, Abbas, Goyeswar, Khokon, Aman and 27 others in connection with the case.

Police on April 29 last year pressed charges against six people. The IO in his probe report said the charges brought against the 26 accused were found "not proved". 

Yesterday, the court took into cognisance the charges against six alliance activists for their alleged involvement in the incident.