| Submit your comments on this article | |
| Bangladesh | |
| Foreign link of suspects under probe | |
| 2009-10-27 | |
| [Bangla Daily Star] Detectives are suspecting that the recent bomb attack on ruling Awami League lawmaker Fazle Noor Taposh might have been plotted abroad, as they found that some of the suspects have foreign links. Assistant Commissioner (AC) Akbar Hossain of the Detective Branch (DB) who is also the investigation officer of the case said, "We have Mehnaz's three cell phone numbers which she used to talk to people in Pakistan, and we found that Sheikh Shafiullah Sofu's wrist watch is equipped with a cellphone. We are looking into the call lists of the cellphones."
During interrogation another detained suspect Kamrul Haque Swapan, younger brother of condemned convict in Bangabandhu murder case Maj (retd) Shariful Haque Dalim, said he used to visit Pakistan, AC Akbar added. The AC also said Mehnaz's parents, absconding condemned convict in Bangabandhu murder case Lt Col (retd) Khandaker Abdur Rashid and his wife Jobaida Rashid, are in the habit of visiting Pakistan. However, six days into the bomb attack on Taposh that left 13 persons injured, police still do not have any conclusive answer to who were the perpetrators and what was their motive. "We have yet to cull any concrete information from the detainees," an additional deputy commissioner of DB told The Daily Star in his office yesterday. AC Mohammad Nasir Uddin Khan of DB said, "We suspect that Mehnaz might have been serving as an agent of a foreign intelligence agency of a South Asian country, and she might have been coordinating criminals trying to carry out subversive activities in the country." He however declined to go into any more detail for the sake of the investigation. Mehnaz told police that Brig Gen (retd) Chowdhury Fazlul Bari, whom she claimed to be one of her ex-husbands and who was a DGFI director during the immediate past caretaker government, visited the US and Singapore with her during the immediate past regime, and before he left Bangladesh he took her passport away from her. Meanwhile, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) intelligence wing, and Rab-3 are also investigating the attack on Taposh. Lt Col Ziaul Ahsan, chief of Rab intelligence, told The Daily Star that they suspect cohorts of Bangabandhu murder case convicts and people linked to the recent Bangladesh Rifles mutiny might also have links with the attack. Chief Executive Officer of Rab-3 Lt Col Mamun Mahmud Firoz Chowdhury said they interrogated several suspects, and are gathering information and evidence regarding the bomb blast. He said they are also keeping DB posted about the latest findings in their investigation. DB so far arrested four Freedom Party leaders and put them on remand for different terms following court orders. Freedom Party was founded by another condemned convict in Bangabandhu murder case, Col (retd) Syed Farooqur Rahman. In the case Taposh filed with Motijheel police station in connection with the attack on him, without naming any person he accused family members, relatives, and associates of Bangabanhdu murder case convicts, of attempting to kill him in a bid to obstruct the proceedings of the case, and to create anarchy in the country. | |
| Posted by:Fred |