Dhaka seeks info on Burdwan blast
Dhaka seeks info on Burdwan blast
Note verbale inquires about involvement of any Bangladeshi
The Bangladesh government today asked its Indian counterpart to share more information of the October 2 bomb blast at Burdwan district in the West Bengal for which the Indian media pointed finger to "militants from Bangladesh".
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a note verbale to the High Commission of India (HCI) this morning.
The October 2 explosion at the Burdwan house killed two suspected militants -- Shakil Ahmed and Sovan Mandal -- and left another one named Hasan Saheb injured. Three people -- Rajira Bibi alias Rumi, Amina Bibi and Hafez Mollah alias Hasan -- were arrested after the blast.
According to Indian media reports, police seized grenades, chemicals used in making explosives, a book on how to trigger explosion, some jihadi literature, a video on jihadi training and a map of important locations in Burdwan district from the house after the blast.
On Monday, Indian newspapers reported that India issued a high alert across the West Bengal and sealed its borders with Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan following the explosion.
Meanwhile, in response to a verification made by the Bangladesh government, India said it had issued no instruction to seal its borders with Bangladesh, the foreign ministry here said today.
Talking to The Daily Star regarding the note verbale, a foreign ministry official said Bangladesh had just requested for more information on the incident.
However, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam told reporters that government in its note verbale voluntarily wanted to know details on the blast, on whether any Bangladeshi was involved in it and how Bangladesh can help India eliminate terrorism and militancy.
Shahriar Alam said Bangladesh is committed to cooperate with all countries in the world, particularly with India, to eliminate terrorism and extremism from this region and extend all-out support for India if they need any help from Bangladesh.
His suspicion is that those who resorted to terrorism in Bangladesh in the past might not be fully inactive, rather might have changed their strategies.
Jamaat-e-Islami and a part of BNP, "which instigated militancy in Bangladesh", are still active and the world community of late understood that Jamaat is a militant organisation, Alam said.