Attack on Bernicat’s motorcade: Further investigation report not submitted

The report of further investigation into the attack on a motorcade of Marcia Bernicat, former ambassador of the US to Bangladesh, has not been produced before the court.

In this context, the court on Monday fixed 4 October as the next date of submission of the report.

Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court’s judge Zaki Al Farabi gave an order in this regard.

Though Monday was the report submission date, the new date was fixed as Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch (DB) could not produce the report before the court.

With this, the DB pleaded time for the eighth time to submit the report, DMP’s crime and information department’s sub-inspector Esharat Ali confirmed Prothom Alo.

The previous date for submission of the report was 6 August.

Five years have passed since the attack on Marcia Bernicat’s motorcade, but no one has been brought to book. The court ordered further investigation into the case.

The US ambassador at the time, Bernicat, had attended a dinner at the home of Badiul Alam Majumdar, the secretary of Shusasoner Jonno Nagorik (SHUJAN), on 4 August 2018. On her way back, her vehicle came under attack.

When the attackers were obstructed from approaching the motorcade of Bernicat, they physically assaulted two members of the security team of the US ambassador. They also hit two cars with bamboos while the motorcade was driving away.

Badiul Alam Majumdar filed a case with Mohammadpur police station after the incident. The court on 1 March in 2022 framed charges after the police had filed a charge sheet against nine in the case.

Court sources said deposition of six people has been recorded. Three of them spoke of the involvement of a certain Ishtiaque Mahmud with the incident.

Later, the court on 28 December last year gave an order to further investigate the incident at the plea of prosecution.

DMP’s DB has been given the task to further investigate the matter.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, DB assistant commissioner Rajan Kumar Saha, who is also the investigation officer of the case, said on Friday night, “The investigation could not move ahead due to unavailability of deposition of any witness. I cannot find any of the witnesses.”

Plaintiff  Badiul Alam Majumdar expressed his disappointment over the authorities’ failure to bring perpetrators to book even after five years of the incident.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, the SHUJAN secretary said on Friday night, “Five years have gone by but no headway has been made in the investigation.”

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, however, said the perpetrators will surely be brought to justice.

Marcia Bernicat was the ambassador of the US from 2015 to 2018.