Comilla: A court here on Sunday ordered police to execute the warrant for the arrest of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and 48 other BNP leaders and activists by April 24 next in a case filed over the 2015 arson attack on a bus in Chouddagram upazila that left eight people dead.

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Joynab Begum passed the order and fixed April 24 for the next hearing of the case, said court police inspector Subrata Banerjee.

Accepting the charge-sheet against 69 BNP leaders and activists, the same court on January 2 last issued the arrest warrant for the BNP chief and others as they did not appear before it on the day.

Eight people were killed and at least 20 others injured when miscreants hurled a petrol bomb at a bus at Jogmohanpur in Chouddagram during the BNP-led alliance’s movement on February 3, 2015.  

Two separate cases—one under the Explosive Substances Act and another for murder—were filed over the incident.

Sub-inspector Nururzzaman filed the murder case against 77 people, including Khaleda.  

Firoz Ahmed, inspector of the Detective Branch of police and also the investigation officer of the case, submitted the chargesheet accusing 69 people.  

October 9, 2017 last, a Comilla court ordered the arrest of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and 45 other leaders and activists of her party in the case filed under the Explosive Substances Act over the arson attack.