The 41 grenades seized in Satkhira on Friday night are identical to those used in the August 21 blasts at an Awami League (AL) rally in 2004. Like the ones detonated to cause August 21 carnage, these too are of Arges brand and were supplied by Moulana Tajuddin, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) officials said yesterday.
Tajuddin is brother of former deputy minister and BNP leader Abdus Salam Pintu, who is now detained in a case filed for the blasts that left 24 AL leaders and workers killed and scores injured. "The grenades recovered from Satkhira are similar in every detail with those used in the August 21 attack," Director General (DG) of Rab Hassan Mahmood Khandkar told a press briefing at Rab headquarters in Uttara.
The elite crime busters made the seizure at Simulia village of Debhata upazila following up leads obtained from Huji leader Mufti Moin Uddin alias Abu Jandal alias Masum Billah.
During the raid, they also picked up Nazrul Islam Ghorami, a suspected operative of Harkatul Jihad al Islami (Huji). “The arrests will provide important leads in investigation of August 21 grenade attacks,” the Rab DG said.
Huji operations commander Mufti Hannan earlier told investigators that his close aide Moin Uddin alias Abu Jandal led the August 21 grenade attack, said a top Rab official requesting not to be named.