Charges pressed against 4 JMB men, Moulana Masud spared

The Detective Branch (DB) of police yesterday pressed charges against four members of Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) while exonerated former Islamic Foundation director Moulana Fariduddin Masud from the charge in a case filed for the August 17 blasts.

DB Inspector and Investigation Officer (IO) Mohammad Fazlul Haq submitted the charge sheet tothe Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court, Dhaka in the case filed with Airport Police Station.

The IO also dropped names of two others from the charge sheet. They are Israq Ahmad Siraji, accountant officer (part-timer) of Masud's Islahul Muslimeen Parishad of Bangladesh, and Sayeed Nizami, co-ordinator of the Parishad.

Moulana Masud was arrested at Zia International Airport (ZIA) on August 22 for suspected links to the August 17 blasts. He was shown arrested in the bomb blast case and placed on remand on several occasions.

Immediately after his arrest, he had accused Jamaat-e-Islami Amir and Industries Minister Motiur Rahman Nizami of having a direct role in the countrywide explosions.

In the charge sheet, the IO said he did not find any evidence of the three having links to the August 17 blasts at Airport area. Moreover, there was no conclusive proof that Masud had channelled money to the militants for staging the countrywide blasts.

Earlier the IO in his forwarding report placed before the court on August 23 had described Masud as bearing links to the blast near a dustbin adjacent to ZIA Concourse Hall at around 11:25am on August 17. The report also portrayed Masud as a central leader of banned JMB and accused him of providing funds for the countrywide blitz of handmade bombs.

The charge-sheeted accused include Mohammad Rezaul Haq alias Reza, 25, of Jamalpur, Musa alias Mustafizur Rahman, 22, of Naogaon, Habibur Rahman alias Habib, 23, and Mohammad Sagir Hossain, 35, of Dhaka.

Of them, Reza is behind bars while the others are on the run. Reza had given a confessional statement to a magistrate, naming the other JMB members involved in the August 17 blasts.

The IO petitioned for arrest warrants to be issued against them and attachment of their moveable properties.