|
Mufti Hannan, 13 other Huji men charged
 Over seven and a half years after the Ramna Batamul blast, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) yesterday pressed charges against 14 operatives of banned Islamist outfit Harkatul Jihad Al Islami (Huji) in two cases filed for the carnage.CID Inspector Abu Hena Mohammad Yusuf, investigation officer (IO) in both cases, submitted the charge sheets before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court in Dhaka. The bloodbath that took place during Pahela Baishakh celebrations on April 14, 2001 left 10 people dead and scores injured. Of the cases filed with Ramna Police Station, one was for murder and the other for possession and use of explosive substances. At a press briefing following the submission of charge sheets, CID chief Additional Inspector General Mohammad Javed Patwari said some 22 Huji members were directly involved in the blast. But charges have been pressed against 14 as addresses of the remaining eight were not found. A supplementary charge sheet, he added, would be submitted against the eight after getting their full addresses. The charge-sheeted accused are Mufti Abdul Hannan Munshi alias Abul Kalam, Arif Hasan Suman alias Abdur Razzak, Moulana Akbar Hossain alias Helaluddin, Shahadat Ullah alias Jewel, Moulana Abu Taher, Moulana Abdur Rauf, Moulana Mohammad Tajuddin, Moulana Abdul Hannan Sabbir, Moulana Shawkat Osman alias Sheikh Farid, Hafez Jahangir Alam Badar, Moulana Abu Bakar alias Selim Hawlader, Mufti Shafiqur Rahman, Moulana Yahiya and Mufti Abdul Hye. Of them, Hannan, Suman, Akbar, Jewel, Abu Taher and Rauf are behind bars and the others are still at large. CID sources said the six Huji detainees stand accused in some other blast cases as well. Akbar, Mufti Hannan and Jewel have confessed to a court their involvement in the attacks including the August 21 grenade blasts on an Awami League rally. The additional inspector general said the Huji members had planned the attack at their headquarters and Saat Gambuz Mosque, both located in the city's Mohammadpur area. Suman, Jewel, Johnny and Sujan carried the bombs to Ramna Park that day. Posing as decorators, they entered through the gate adjacent to the National Tennis Complex at around 4:00am. Johnny detonated the bomb by remote control. The CID chief said Ramna Batamul, where people pour in to celebrate the Bengali New Year, had been chosen as the target because the Huji considers Pahela Boishakh revels anti-Islamic. The bombs were supplied by Moulana Tajuddin. Former deputy minister and BNP leader Abdus Salam Pintu's younger brother, he also supplied grenades for the August 21 grenade attack. Posted by: Fred 2008-12-01 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=256309 |