Bangladesh News

Seizure of various firearms and equipment on BDR Headquarters premises yesterday confused the army personnel and other investigators of the assassination of military officers.

Besides, it is suspected that some members of the Rifles Security Unit (RSU) were also involved in the carnage, sources inform.

The sources say the personnel from various agencies including army, navy and fire service yesterday recovered several grenades, huge number of firearms, ammunition and other equipment including binoculars, walky-talkies and slings of SMGs.

Recovery of two binoculars and the belts of SMGs confuses the army and others investigators as these are used neither by the Bangladesh Army and BDR nor by any other government agencies.

Lt Ashiquzzaman of Bangladesh Navy told The Daily Star navy personnel recovered an LMG, five SMGs, two rifles, one pistol, 30 loaded magazines, and 2,000 bullets.

Other recovered explosives, arms and ammunition include 24 grenades, 16 walky-talkies, several thousand bullets of various guns, huge number of uniforms and shoes of the soldiers and their credit cards.

Earlier, about 10,000 bullets and several firearms and grenades were recovered from the BDR Headquarters. Some other arms and explosives were also recovered from neighbouring areas.

Sources say these arms, ammunition and explosives were left behind by the soldiers.

After recovering the arms and equipment, army officials exhibited those to the media at the hall room of Rifle Paribar Kalyan Samity (Ripoks) and the arsenal of BDR.

They also let journalists observe all the places and recovered arms and ammunition and also answered their queries.

Maj Awal said, “The two binoculars recovered in a search really confused us as these are used by neither the army, BDR and police nor any other government agencies in the country.”

He suspects other parties imported these binoculars from outside.

“The SMGs recovered are used by BDR but the belts are not, which is another mystery to us,” Maj Awal added.

He also said they recovered some walky-talkies which are used by RSU.

“We suspect some field-level RSU members might have been involved in the carnage and they did not make aware their senior officials,” Maj Awal said. “If they informed the blueprint of the conspirators, the incident could not have been so brutal.”

Sources say a huge number of arms were found under the beds and pillows of the sepoys.

Besides, most of the doors to the arsenal and the office of RSU and all the boxes of the firearms were found broken.

Some of the army officials said they suspect the culprits might have left behind various other materials in the ponds. If the ponds are thoroughly searched it could be helpful in unfolding the mystery, they added.

Apart from this, personnel from the army and fire service dug out huge ashes from a hole at a place in between Ripoks and Darbar Hall.

Maj Awal said the hole was dug out with the suspicion that it was a mass grave but no body was found there.

“But this huge quantity of ashes hidden into the hole confused us,” he said. “The CID investigation team would probe it whether the culprits have burned something important and later hid those in the hole.”

Moreover, another mystery over the presence of two foreign nationals, a female and a male, inside the BDR headquarters was yet to be unfolded.

Witnesses say foreign nationals Tang Yunpeng, 30, and Xang Zhaoua, 28, came out of the BDR Headquarters in the afternoon on February 26.

Sources say the reason behind their stay at the BDR HQ could not be known and they also did not make any comment on the condition during the hostage period.