Culprits must be punished

Advocate Umme Razia Kajal, a victim of the August 21grenade attack, breaks down in tears in front of the makeshift memorial on Bangabandhu Avenue after placing flowers there. Photo: Shawkat Jamil

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday vowed to bring to book the masterminds behind the August 21 grenade attack on an Awami League rally through proper probe.
"Our government will surely conduct a thorough investigation into the grenade attack. The culprits, no matter how powerful they may be, will be punished," said Hasina, also the president of ruling Awami League, at a discussion at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh.
AL organised the discussion chaired by Deputy Leader of parliament Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury marking the fifth anniversary of the grenade attack.
On this day in 2004, 24 people including AL leader Ivy Rahman, wife of President Zillur Rahman, were killed and 500 others got injured in the grenade attack on an AL rally.
Hasina, who narrowly survived the attack, held the then BNP-Jamaat coalition government and its top leadership responsible for the attack.
Addressing the discussion as chief guest, Hasina said they have already received a lot of information on the perpetrators and more information will be derived through proper investigation.
The premier said she wants that the agencies investigating the incident locate the places where the attackers received training and from where the grenades were brought.
She also questioned why the law enforcement agencies remained inactive during the attack and how same type of grenades used in the attack made their way to the Dhaka central jail.
The AL president said a guard of the prison was allowed to leave the country after the recovery of the grenades.
"Who was the prison guard and how could he leave the country without the then government's help?” questioned Hasina.
The premier also wondered how 24 grenades went missing from the huge cache of illegal arms hauled in Chittagong.
The AL president said the previous BNP-led coalition government staged a drama arresting Joj Mia in a bid to hide the real culprits.
She said BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia proved that she patronised the perpetrators by making BNP leader Abdus Salam Pintu's younger brother Sultan Salauddin Tuku, one of the main accused in the grenade attack case, Chhatra Dal president.
Hasina accused the BNP-Jamaat coalition of patronising militancy and terrorism to eliminate political opponents.
She said the patrons of militancy are still active and have been conspiring against the pro-liberation war forces.
Hasina said her government is committed to building a developed and prosperous "digital Bangladesh" for changing the fate of the poor in the country.
She also directed the party activists to help the families affected by the grenade attack.
The premier said she wants to keep the pledges for which the people voted them to power.
LGRD and Cooperatives Minister and AL General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam alleged that former premier Khaleda Zia, her sons and cabinet colleagues obstructed the course of law to save the real culprits.
AL leaders Matia Chowdhury, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, Abdul Matin Khasru, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, AFM Bahauddin Nasim, among others, spoke.