'Pintu pledged to help attackers'

Abdus Salam Pintu

Former deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu had allegedly promised to provide security and administrative assistance to the assailants of the August 21 carnage, a former Rab official told a Dhaka court yesterday.
Maj (retd) Atiqur Rahman, former deputy director (interrogation) of the intelligence wing of Rab, said this in his deposition before the Speedy Trial Tribunal-1, Dhaka.
After recording his statement, Judge Shahed Nuruddin fixed August 26 for next hearing.
A grenade attack on an Awami League rally left 24 party leaders and workers dead, including immediate past president Zillur Rahman's wife Ivy Rahman.  As many as 300 others were injured in the attack.
Sheikh Hasina, the then leader of the opposition and now prime minister, narrowly escaped death but sustained ear injuries caused by the impact of the blasts.
Atiqur was serving as a deputy director at Rab headquarters from October 2004 to June 2009. He led the Rab team that arrested Harkatul Jihad Al Islami (Huji) chief Mufti Abdul Hannan on October 1, 2005.
“I came to know from my director Col Gulzar that before carrying out the grenade attack on August 21, 2004 on an Awami League rally on Bangabandhu Avenue, Pintu held a meeting at his Dhanmondi residence and said he would provide security and administrative help to those who would carry out the grenade attack,” said Atiqur in his deposition.
The witness added Hannan and Bipul, another Huji member arrested in the same case, were once interrogated together about the grenade attack. Col Gulzar, who was the director of Rab intelligence wing, and CID officials were present during the interrogation.
Maj Atiqur went abroad for training halfway through the interrogation.
“On my return, Col Gulzar told me that Mufti Hannan had disclosed significant information. He told me the perpetrators had a meeting with former deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu at his Dhanmondi residence at the planning stage of the attack,” said Maj Atiqur in his statement.
He added Col Gulzar, who later died, and the CID officials went to former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar's office and informed him about the information given by Hannan. Babar was also informed about Hannan's confession about the August 17, 2005 countrywide serial bomb blasts.
“After returning from the home ministry, my director, late Col Gulzar, commented that the state minister did not seem to be satisfied hearing the confession of Mufti Hannan,” Atiqur said in his statement.
Maj Atiqur kept on trying to capture Moulana Tajuddin, brother of Abdus Salam Pintu, who brought Arges grenades from Pakistan for the August 21 attack.
At one stage, Col Gulzar asked Atiqur to stop searching for Tajuddin since Babar had told them that Tajuddin himself would appear. But it did not happen, added Maj Atiqur.
He later came to know that Tajuddin had been sent abroad as per directive of Brig Gen ATM Amin and under the supervision of Lt Col Saiful Islam, who was a DGFI official at that time.
Amin and Saif are not in service now. Saif escaped from his workplace after a bomb attack on AL lawmaker and Hasina's nephew Fazle Noor Tapash in 2009.
Five army officers were convicted in a military trial for that attack.
Meantime, CID was assigned to investigate the August 21 grenade attack on January 11, 2007 and before that Col Gulzar also told Maj Atiqur that Joj Mia and his two other aides had already given confessional statements, the witness said.
“So, we were directed to produce Mufti Hannan before the court through CID to record his testimony under section 164 [of CrPC] in cases linked to other bomb blasts and grenade attacks except the August 21 grenade attack,” he added.
According to this directive, the CID's investigation officer produced Hannan before the court in November 2006 in connection with the case of the Ramna Batamul blast in 2001.
Hannan made a confessional statement regarding his involvement in the other bomb and grenade attacks except the August 21 attack, Atiqur added.