Grenade danger lurks across the country

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Intelligence agencies strongly suspect a large number of grenades are kept hidden in places across the country as they have made seizures of abandoned grenades or arrested militants with the bombs.

In the last five years, the law enforcers seized grenades in almost every district and most of those were found abandoned.

“Our suspicion points to everywhere,” commented Hassan Mahmood Khandaker, director general of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), on Saturday when asked whether grenades are in the hands of militants.

Law enforcers have already seized at least 130 hand grenades, mostly of Arges brand, and the rest 36-MHE brand grenades, from different parts of the country.

The bulk of the seized grenades was in possession of outlawed Islamist militant outfit Harkatul Jihad Al Islami (Huji), which had ‘carried out’ the major grenade attacks in the country.

Intelligence officials suspect the grenades have been smuggled into the country mainly through two channels. They believe militants, particularly Huji men smuggled Arges brand and local criminals collected some of 36-MHE brand from the separatists in India using their personal connection.

Rab Additional Director General Col Gulzaruddin Ahmed said: “The Arges model might have been spread across the country through the network of Mufti Hannan, and the other grenades through local terrorists who managed the grenades from the separatist groups.”

The law enforcers, however, have no obvious idea as to how many grenades are still in the hands of militants and criminals.

A top intelligence official said their investigation and statement of Huji leaders arrested with grenades suggest Pakistan-based militant organisations sent several consignments of grenades to Bangladesh. The ultimate destination of the grenades is the Indian Islamist militants, the official added.

He pointed to the recent bust and seizure of 41 Arges grenades from a Huji operative in a bordering village in Satkhira. He believes the grenades were taken to the bordering village so that those could easily be smuggled to India.

Moulana Tajuddin, who supplied grenades for the August 21 attack on an Awami League rally in 2004, played an important role to help militants use Bangladesh as a transit point and involve Mufti Hannan-led Huji leaders.

Tajuddin is the brother of former deputy minister and BNP leader Abdus Salam Pintu who is now detained in connection with the August 21 grenade attack case.

Tajuddin is also a member of Pakistan-based militant organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba, the intelligence official said.

“The Arges brand grenades are supplied by Moulana Tajuddin, a leader of Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan,” Rab Additional Director General Col Gulzaruddin Ahmed told The Daily Star on Sunday.

Speaking anonymously, a top intelligence official said a chunk of the grenades sent to India through Bangladesh was meant for Huji leaders. Huji top leader Mufti Hannan dispatched those grenades across the country through his network to carry out attacks, he added.

He suspects the huge grenades and firearms seized in Chittagong on April 2, 2004 had a destination other than a place in Bangladesh.

Jane’s Intelligence Review (JIR), a leading defence magazine worldwide, in an investigative report on the April 2 arms haul says the shipment involved two key insurgent movements from India’s northeast — the United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa) and the Isak-Muivah faction of the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM).

Some of the grenades in possession of Huji members have already been used in different attacks including the attacks on the AL rally on August 21 in 2004, on the British high commissioner to Bangladesh and on AL lawmaker and former finance minister SAMS Kibria.

Col Gulzaruddin said: “All the grenade attacks, including the attacks on the Awami League rally, former minister Shah AMS Kibria, British High Commissioner Anwar Choudhury, and Awami League leader Suranjit Sengupta, were carried out by Huji with the Arges grenades.”

He said the Arges brand was first smuggled into the country in mid-2003 and the maiden haul was made with 20 such grenades at a Kuril house in the capital on November 30.

He suspects the already seized grenades are part of those the militants had kept in their hideouts.

Of the 130 seized grenades, some are model 36 (MHE), which the separatists of Myanmar and India including Ulfa and some other rebel outfits use.

Apart from the seizure of 41 grenades in Satkhira, Rab seized 16 grenades in Jhenidah and arrested nine Huji operatives on October 29 last year. In another drive, 20 grenades were recovered from Kuril in Badda in November 2003.

On July 17 last year, Rab arrested four militants of outlawed Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and recovered 15 hand grenades from Hilochia Shakua village in Bajitpur, Kishoreganj.

Since 2003, at least eight grenade attacks were carried out in the country leaving over 50 people dead and hundreds injured.

Some of the significant attacks are the August 21 attack on the AL rally, attack on former minister and AL leader SAMS Kibria, attack on British envoy Anwar Choudhury, and attacks on different shrines including Fila Paglar Mazar in Tangail.

At least 30 grenades were seized in Khulna, Kishoreganj, Banani and Moghbazar in the capital, Sirajganj, and Thakurgaon last year.

In 2006, five grenades were recovered from Dinajpur, Sherpur and Thakurgaon districts.

In 2005, 45 such bombs were recovered from Khagrachhari, Sonadanga in Khulna, Feni, Amin Bazar and Savar in Dhaka, Dinajpur, Thakurgaon, Moulvibazar, Sirajganj, and Rangamati.

In 2004, at least eight grenades were recovered from the Dhaka Central Jail, Railway Hawkers Market and at a tea stall at Sonadanga in Khulna and in 2003, police seized 20 hand grenades after a gunfight with a criminal outfit at Kuril Badda.

Asked whether there is a link between the 10 truckloads of arms haul in Chittagong and the grenades recovered in Satkhira, Col Gulzar said: “The grenades seized in Chittagong are not Arges model. We can’t be sure of the matter as long as Tajuddin is on the run.”

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