Ctg grenades used in all attacks

The grenades that went missing from the Chittagong 10-truck arms cache in 2004 were used in all grenade attacks including the one on August 21 Awami League rally, detained former BNP state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar has told interrogators.

The grenades were used in attacks on Shah AMS Kibria, former British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Anwar Choudhury, AL leader Suranjit Sengupta and Sylhet City Mayor Badruddin Ahmed Kamran, Babar told Criminal Investigation Department officials during interrogation in the August 21 grenade attack case.

The former state minister said three days after the August 21 incident Harris Chowdhury asked him to go to Hawa Bhaban where former BNP deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu was also present.

Both Harris and Pintu had threatened Babar to strip him of ministerial post when he refused hiding the truth and saving the perpetrators, Babar said.

The two also told him not to show any curiosity about the sources of the grenades.

Babar mentioned that all grenade attacks were made in the country after the arms haul at Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Jetty on April 2, 2004 when a huge number of grenades and arms went missing, CID sources said.

Meanwhile, detained Harkatul Jihad al Islam leader Abdul Majid admitted that he received the grenades from Laskar-e-Taiba leader Moulana Tajuddin, also brother of Pintu, for carrying out attack on the AL rally. But he was not sure from where Tajuddin collected them, said sources.

CID sources said Babar however denied his involvement in supplying the grenades saying he came to know about it after the attack.

Babar also said he didn't know then the number of missing grenades as intelligence agency personnel did not give him any information about it.

Meanwhile, Huji founder Moulana Sheikh Abdus Salam divulged that the plan to assassinate Sheikh Hasina was finalised after the masterminds received some of the missing grenades. Tajuddin collected the grenades from them, he added.

CID interrogated Babar, Salam and Majid together to crosscheck information.

Babar would be produced before the court today as his remand for third phase ended yesterday.