ZCZC
BSS-14
GRENADE-ATTACK-FUGITIVES
Multi-approach underway to bring back 18 fugitives
DHAKA, Aug 20, 2018 (BSS) – The government has taken multi-dimensional approaches to bring back 18 fugitives in the August 21, 2004 grenade attack cases.
“We have taken multi-dimensional approaches to bring back nine fugitives as their whereabouts have already been located out of the 18 accused in the August 21, 2004 grenade attack cases,” Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told BSS.
While Chief Prosecutor in the August 21 grenade attack cases, Advocate Syed Rezaur Rahman told BSS today, “Eighteen accused out of 52 charge-sheeted accused in the August 21, 2004 grenade attack cases, have been shown fugitives, eight are on bail and 26 others are now in different jails.”
The government has been trying to bring back 18 fugitives in the cases to the country through Interpol, he informed.
Intelligence sources however said, the most wanted accused in the cases, BNP Senior Vice Chairman and elder son of detained former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, Tarique Rahman is now staying in London, Maulana Tajuddin Ahmed and his younger brother Ratul Babu have been hiding in South Africa.
Former BNP MP Kazi Mofazzal Hossain Kaikobad has been hiding in Saudi Arabia and Haris Chowdhury moved through United Kingdom, Malaysia, Singapore, USA and India.
One of the key accused in the cases, former minister and Jamaat-e-Islami secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed was hanged to death in a case of crime against humanity during the War of Liberation in 1971 while the banned militant outfit Harkatul Jihad chief Mufti Abdul Hannan and Shahidul Alam Bipul were hanged in the another case of terrorism.
Two other major suspects-former major general ATM Amin and former Lt Colonel Saiful Islam Joarder are now staying in Dubai. Besides, Mohibul Mustakin and his brother Anisul Mursalin are now in Tihar Jail in India. Militant leaders Shafikur Rahman, Mufti Abdul Hai, Maulana Abu Bakar, Iqbal, Khalilur Rahman, Jahangir Alam alias Badar, Maulana Liton alias Zobair alias Delwar, the then deputy commissioner (east) and deputy commissioner (south) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Md Obaidur Rahman and Khan Syed Hasan respectively are also staying abroad, the sources said.
The heinous attack was carried out on an anti-terrorism rally of the then main opposition party, Awami League (AL) on August 21, 2004, aimed at killing the front ranking leaders including its president and incumbent Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to eliminate the party leaderships.
A total of 24 AL leaders and workers, including the then Mohila Awami League President and late President Zillur Rahman’s wife Ivy Rahman, were killed and 500 others were injured. Sheikh Hasina and the front ranking leaders escaped the carnage narrowly.
Two separate cases–one for murder and another under the explosives act -were filed with Motijheel police station the next day to this end.
Fifty-two people were accused in separate charge sheets in the two cases over the August 21 grenade attacks.
During the last caretaker government’s tenure, the first two charge sheets in the August 21 cases – one for murder and another under the explosive act – were placed before the court on July 11, 2008 accusing 22 people, including former deputy minister of BNP-Jamaat alliance government Abdus Salam Pintu and 21 HuJI leaders and workers.
Later on July 3 in 2012, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) submitted two separate supplementary charge sheets in the cases against 30 people after a fresh investigation into the matter. With the 30 accused, the number of charge accused in the cases rose to 52.
During the BNP-Jamaat regime, the investigators were trying to divert the probe to a wrong direction to save the real culprits. Media reports brought to public attention the cooked-up story of Joj Mia by the then CID officials to derail the investigation.
The visible attempt to frustrate the case by the then BNP-led regime prompted the subsequent interim government to order a fresh investigation into the case.
BSS/SPL/AHJ/MM/QC/1356 hrs