4th IO tells court that he could not arrest anyone in Batamul blast case

Another prosecution witness (PW) gave his deposition before a Dhaka court yesterday in the murder case over the 2001 Pahela Baishakh blasts at Ramna Batamul.
Judge (in-charge) Mohammad Akhteruzzaman of the Second Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court recorded statement of Mohammad Awlad Hossain, the then detective branch inspector, also the fourth investigation officer (IO) of the case.
Awlad in his deposition told the court that he took over the charge of the investigation into the cases on August 30, 2002 and continued it till May 3, 2003.
During his eight-month investigation, he tried to arrest the culprits who had committed the heinous crimes, but he could not arrest any of them, he said.
The witness was later cross-examined by all of the accused. After completion of cross-examination, the court fixed April 22 for next hearing of the case.
Eight of the accused, including Harkatul Jihad (Huji) chief Mufti Abdul Hannan, now in jail custody, were produced before the court yesterday, while Akbar, now on bail, was also present.
Five others, including Maulana Tajuddin, brother of BNP leader Abdus Salam Pintu, have been absconding.