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Son of Former Bangladesh PM Charged in Grenade Attack


Tareque Rahman, the eldest son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, shown at a rally in Dhaka in this September 4, 2006 file photo.
Tareque Rahman, the eldest son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, shown at a rally in Dhaka in this September 4, 2006 file photo.

Bangladesh police have charged Tareque Rahman, the son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, with planning a 2004 grenade attack on an opposition political rally that killed 24 people.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who at the time was the Awami League leader, was injured in the blast along with hundreds of others.

Police filed charges against Rahman and several others late Sunday in a Dhaka court, accusing them of the attack on an Awami League rally in August 2004. Among those charged were former lawmakers with Ms. Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

Police initially charged militants from the outlawed Harkatul Kihad and several members of the BNP with the attack.

The BNP has condemned the new charges, saying they were politically motivated. Later Monday, at least 25 people were injured in clashes between police and BNP supporters protesting the arrest warrant.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.

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