Bangladesh News

Rapid Action Battalion has arrested two men who were part of the team that threw grenades on an Awami League (AL) rally in the capital on August 21, 2004.

The two detained men later in a news briefing admitted to journalists that they took part in the grenade attack which was aimed at assassinating AL chief Sheikh Hasina.

Rab arrested Rafiqul Islam alias Sabuj, 28, from Baliakandi of Rajbari, and Uzzal Hossain alias Ratan, 26, from Noahata under Sripur in Magura in the 24 hours preceding 3:30pm yesterday, Rab Additional Director General (ADG) Col Gulzar Uddin Ahmed told a news briefing yesterday.

The Rab ADG also said five other persons with suspected links to banned Islamist militant organisation Harkatul Jihad al Islami (HuJi) were also arrested during a raid on Kurshi village under Baliakandi in Rajbari, who were handed over to police stations concerned.

A joint team of Rab intelligence wing, Rab-6 and Rab-8 also seized some papers, other documents, and two books on jihad.

The arrestees, who were paraded at the news briefing at Rab Headquarters in the capital, told reporters that they took part in the August 21 attack to kill former premier also AL chief Sheikh Hasina, who is also currently in detention on charges of corruption and abuse of power.

“Before the attack, Mufti Hannan at a meeting in his Merul Badda home in Dhaka convinced us that Sheikh Hasina is causing harm to Islam, so she should be killed, and I agreed to throw the grenades,” Sabuj told reporters.

He said he joined HuJi in 2002, on an invitation from a detained HuJi leader also a suspect in the August 21 attack case Moulana Abdur Rouf, while he was a student in a qoumi madrasa in Baliakandi.

He said 12 attackers divided in three groups carried out the attack. “We were four in a group led by detained HuJi leader Moin Uddin alias Abu Jandal,” he said adding that two other members of his group were Towfiq and Mostafa. He said he heard that the two are now in Saudi Arabia. Towfiq left the country during Ramdan in 2004 and Mostafa fled about a year ago.

He said after a briefing, Hannan gave six grenades to each group and asked them to throw those at the AL rally from different sides. He however did not identify the other grenade throwers.

Sabuj said in the morning of the day of the attack, their group was given six grenades in Hannan’s residence in Badda which was also his office.

“I was given two grenades which I hid in my pants and went to the rally venue on a bus,” Sabuj said adding that they however were not trained in how to throw a grenade.

The detained HuJi members said Hannan just briefed them on how to remove the pin of a grenade and throw the deadly weapon at a target.

Sabuj told the reporters that he however could not throw any grenade as he was caught in the middle of the onrush of panicked people running around at the venue after several grenades had already exploded.

He also said he abandoned the grenades he had and left the place. He said none threw any grenade from any rooftop or from inside any building.

The other detained and confessed attacker Uzzal Hosain alias Ratan said he was lying at a nearby shrine after the attack, pretending to be a vagabond sleeping there. He also said after several grenades had already exploded he threw away the two he possessed and melted into the fleeing crowd.

Rab officials said with the arrests of Sabuj and Ratan, eight grenade throwers are now behind bars.

They are Abu Jandal, Jahangir, Bulbul, Jewel (brother of a Narayanganj based slain criminal David), Sabuj, Ratan, Khalil, and Arif Hasan Sumon.

Besides, Muttakin and Mursalin, two other suspects who are also brothers, are currently in a jail in India after their arrest there.

Three other suspected attackers already died or were killed. Ehsan Ullah Kajol was killed in an encounter in India, Masud of Jhenidah died of ailment, and Khalil of Mohammadpur in Magura died as a bomb went off while he was manufacturing it.

“The arrest of Sabuj and Ratan is the result of our two years’ effort, which we started after Huji leader Mufti Abdul Hannan had divulged the names of the grenade throwers in his statement,” Col Gulzar said yesterday.

He said they will hand over the arrestees to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which is investigating the case filed in connection with the deadly grenade attack that left 24 AL leaders and workers killed and scores injured.

He also said CID is trying to submit a flawless and credible charge sheet, which is why possibly the investigation officer is taking a bit longer to submit it.

Meanwhile, a correspondent reported from Faridpur that Rab also arrested five other suspected HuJi militants from Kurshi village, who are Moulana Mizanur Rahaman, 22, Moulana Kutubullah, 29, Md Motiar Rahaman, 25, Md Shahidul Islam, 23, and Farhad Hossain, 22.

Tipped off, personnel of Rab Intelligence Wing, Rab-6 and Rab-8 raided Mostafizur Rahaman’s house in Kurshi village, under Baliakandi in Rajbari and arrested the five suspected close aides of Mufti Hannan.

Rab also seized 10 electric detonators, some other electric equipment, a register book, and a plastic bag from the house.