 | Lot o' red meat in this article, if any of it is credible... |
Investigators are trying to decipher a telephone conversation in Arabic mixed with Bangla tapped Saturday to check if there is any clue to the August 17 countrywide terror bombings that still remain a mystery. Meanwhile, quizzing of 14 arrestees at the Joint Interrogation Cell (JIC) in Dhaka continued for the second consecutive day yesterday, with six more brought in to join their ranks. Some of the new arrestees confessed to their involvement in the attack and also disclosed names of some people, who had trained them on how to operate the bombs before August 17, said a JIC source.| "We'll talk! And no, we don't want to go for a little stroll by the meat packing warehouse!" |
"Although the bombs were handed over to us on August 17, some people showed us where the switches and batteries were and how to operate the bombs about three days before the attacks," the source quoted an arrestee as saying. | "Just some guys. They said their names were Mahmoud, Mahmoud, and Mahmoud." |
Earlier, two detainees from Satkhira and one from Kushtia identified themselves to the cell as operatives of Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and admitted to their participation in carrying out the bombings. Yesterday another Kushtia arrestee confessed the same.| "We dunnit, and we're glad!" |
According to their confessions, the bombers were trained at a rented house at each of the district headquarters, said the investigator seeking anonymity. Primary investigations suggest three to four people were assigned to each district to distribute the bombs among the planters, he added. Law enforcers and intelligence agencies have already started searching for the rented training houses in the district towns based on the detainees' statements.| "Nope. No training center here. Nope. Nope. Not over there either. Now scram." |
The investigator also said some of the arrestees identified themselves as members of either JMB or Ahle Hadith Andolan, Bangladesh (Ahab). Some of them also received training on armed combat in various places in the country. Sources said 20 people were being quizzed at the JIC until late last night. | Doesn't RAB usually work the late shift? |
| They do the field work; JIC does the 'skull sessions'. |
Some of the detainees might be returned to their district today if the check clears investigators become sure they had no involvement in the bombings. They said fresh arrestees from across the country will be brought in and interrogated at the JIC and the process will be on.
| "Hi Mahmoud, we're from the JIC and we're here to put on the 'process'." |
On the telephone conversation, an intelligence source said they had wiretapped it Saturday, where "two men were talking in Arabic interspersed with Bangla, which seems pretty suspicious to us." The source did not give any further details about the phone call for the sake of investigation and said they are working to interpret the conversation to find whether it contains anything suspicious or any clue to the blasts. Intelligence agencies have been tapping phone calls since Wednesday's countrywide blasts. The source said, "Even if we don't get any clue from this conversation, we'll continue tapping phone calls." | I take the Bangla Civil Liberties Union isn't a real strong organization. |
Meantime, State Minister for Home Lutfozzaman Babar yesterday directed the law enforcement agencies to step up security measures across the country to avert any further bomb attacks. "The minister has instructed us to keep tight vigilance in the city," Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner SM Mizanur Rahman said.
The ministry in a letter signed by Joint Secretary (Political) Md Abdul Haq also directed the district-level officials to hold regular meetings on law and order situation.
Our Khulna correspondent reports: Law enforcers yesterday continued a manhunt for Sheikh Rafiqul Islam, a lecturer of Islamic studies at Paikgachha College, suspecting his involvement in Wednesday's bombings. Rafiqul, who hails from Ghorahati village of Satkhira, has been on the run since Wednesday's blasts.
| Lecturer? I guess he's not going to be promoted to a tenure track anytime soon .com, that's an academic joke ... |
Member of Ahab, he is a close relative of Ahab chief Asadullah Al Galib, detectives said. "We have evidence that he was involved in the planning of Wednesday's serial bomb blasts," said a Detective Branch official. |