35 held over Rajshahi cops attacks link

Law enforcers arrested 35 people early Wednesday for their alleged involvement with the recent brutal attacks on police.

Twenty-six of them confessed that they were directly involved with the last two attacks that were carried out within a span of two-day on the law enforcers, Rajshahi Metropolitan Police Commissioner Md Moniruzzaman said while talking to reporters at his office on Wednesday.

Sub-inspector Mokbul Hossain of Motihar police lost his right wrist as the activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir, hurled several bombs on police in Rajshahi on Sunday.

Within 24 hours of the incident, Shibir men unleashed another pre-planned attack on the law enforcers and thrashed the head of sub-inspector Jahangir Alam, in-charge of Upashahar police camp, leaving him critically injured.

The arrest was made identifying the attackers from video footages and photographs published in different media.

Acting on the clues, police and Rapid Action Battalion in a joint drive raided Boalia, Motihar, Shah Mokdum and Rajapara areas of Rajshahi and arrested the people.

A cocktail, 19 Chinese axes, a laptop, documents on bank accounts of Shibir activists and vouchers for the payment for carrying out attacks on police were also confiscated during the drive, the RMP commissioner added.

Of the arrestees, 14 Shibir activists were nabbed during a three-hour drive, at a Shibir dominated student mess at Sopura area of the city, reported our Rajshahi correspondent quoting Rokonuzzaman, assistant commissioner of RMP.

During the preliminary investigation, the arrestees also confessed that they had participated in the attacks on police at Sahebbazar, Kalabagan, Hetemkhan, Sonadighi Masjid, Laxmipur and Medical intersection during the last few days, the commissioner said.

"The attacks were aimed to kill us, the members of the law enforcing agencies, to shatter our confidence," he said.

Terming police a state force, the commissioner said that such desire of an isolated and criminal force (Jamaat-Shibir) will not be fulfilled.

"I want to provide a hope to the people as my colleagues are working relentlessly and sincerely to arrest the perpetrators," Moniruzzaman said.

He also thanked Rafiqul Alam, a journalist from Bangla daily Kaler Kantho, and a pedestrian, Jharna Begum, for rescuing Jahangir Alam who was brutally attacked by activists of Islami Chhatra Shibir in Shalbagan of the city on Monday.

"People today feel that it is not the proper time to sit idle. It is time to stand against those who were against the independence of the country in 1971," the RMP commissioner said.

"We are discharging our duties, given by the government, sincerely," he said.