The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

After obtaining 'vital clues,' from the arrested persons, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) yesterday launched a massive hunt in different parts of the city to recover the two 1,500 year-old stolen statues of Hindu god Vishnu.

RAB sources said they were hopeful of finding the stolen statues.

RAB suspects that an 'influential' person living in the Sector No. 13 at Uttara may be involved in the incident of stealing.

A source of RAB said that the arrested persons under remand disclosed the names of a group of smugglers involved in the stealing of the two rare terracotta statues of the Hindu god Vishnu. The names include a former adviser of the caretaker government.

However, the RAB source declined to disclose the name of the former adviser for the sake of "investigation."

The incident of stealing of two invaluable statues is now being investigated by the Detective Branch of Police, CID, RAB, Special Branch of Police, and members of other intelligence agencies.

Officials of police and RAB said the Civil Aviation authority is supposed to ensure the security and safety of the airport area. No untoward incident could take place without the connivance of these two agencies.

Col Gulzaruddin Ahmed, Additional Director General of RAB told journalists in the morning that they had received 'appropriate' information about the stolen statues. "We got all the information about who took away the statues from the Zia International Airport and which vehicle was used to steal the statues. Now hunt for the stolen statues at Uttara is going on," he said.

Acting on the confession of the arrested persons, RAB launched a sudden operation at a house at Sector No. 13 in Uttara in the morning. But, the statues were not found in that house.

SM Abul Kalam Azad, Director of the Media and Legal Wing of RAB, said the stolen statues could not be recovered till the afternoon. The suspects who were taken on remand disclosed vital information. After stealing the statues, the thieves took them to a house at Road No. 7/B at Sector No. 13 in Uttara. Later, the statues were dumped into a nearby dustbin from the house.

Later, a RAB team conducted searches in the garbage of the dustbin.

Led by Col Asif Ahmed Ansari, head of RAB's Intelligence Wing, another team of RAB-1 conducted massive searches in the garbage at a garbage dumping ground at Baliajuri in Aminbazar, adjacent to Modhumoti Model Town throughout the day. RAB claimed that they found two pieces of a statue there.

With the help of 50 labourers, as many as 100 RAB personnel carried out massive searches in the garbage. Ansari told reporters that the RAB personnel would start their searches again from today morning.

After conducting raids at city's Uttara, Mirpur, Jatrabari and Savar areas, the RAB men recovered some broken pieces of statues from Aminbazar area at noon yesterday.

Sources at RAB claimed that the statues were broken apart being frightened of the law enforcers and then dumped into the dustbin.

However, it could not be confirmed whether the broken parts actually belonged to the original statues.

RAB also expressed the apprehension that the statues might have been broken apart following the disclosure of the incident of stealing.

However, doubts still remain about whether the statues would subsequently be found intact or not.

However, the National Museum authorities said the pieces of statues, recovered yesterday from Aminbazar in Savar, are not similar to the two stolen rare terracotta artefacts of Hindu god Vishnu.

Investigators believe that the stolen statues of god Vishnu belonging to the 6th and 7th centuries are still in the country. They have not been smuggled out of the country.

On the other hand, arrested 15 employees of Air France, Voyager Airlines and Bangladesh Biman are now being interrogated inside the Task Force Intelligence Cell of RAB.

Amir Hamja, one of the 15 arrested persons placed on a five-day remand, was produced before the court yesterday and he made a statement confessing his involvement in stealing the statues. The rest 14 arrested persons are still on remand and they would be produced before the court on December 31.

Apart from these 15 persons, the RAB arrested nine more people, believed to be involved in smuggling at Zia International Airport, in connection with the stealing of two artefacts of Hindu god Vishnu. They were produced before the court yesterday by police and RAB. Of them, six persons made confession saying their involvement in stealing the statues.

Sources at RAB headquarters said during interrogation, the arrested nine people reportedly confessed that they stole the artefacts from Zia International Airport. After heisting the masterpieces, they broke both the rare artefacts into pieces and threw them into a dustbin.

Following their statement, the RAB men have been conducting raids in city's Uttara, Mirpur, Jatrabari and Savar areas looking for the broken pieces of the two statues.

They are Lutfar Rahman, Monir Hossain, Nikhil Chandra Das, Nurul Islam Nuru, Abdul Hamid and Uzzal Hossain.

Producing them before the court, police sought remand for another two. They are Anwara Begum and Mizanur Rahman. The rest one accused Moksed Ali was sent to jail hajat.

With the latest arrest, the number of arrestees has stood at 24.

It may be recalled that the artefacts were found missing on last Friday during a check of the cartons being shifted to a plane of Air France. Later, police arrested 15 people, including three Air France officials, who are now on police remand.

Some 147 artefacts packed in 13 cartons were taken to the airport on Friday to send them to Paris for exhibition at Guimet Museum.

On Tuesday night, the government decided not to send the artefacts to Guimet Museum and to take back from the airport the 12 cartons containing 145 artefacts to the National Museum.

Forty-two artefacts already sent to Guimet museum in Paris for exhibition are being crated for flying those back to Dhaka following Bangladesh government's request.

A French embassy release yesterday said the Guimet museum has been informed of the decision of the Bangladesh government and of the request to send back the 42 items already in the museum.

"The artefacts are being crated," the release said, adding the Guimet museum should be contacted directly if more information is sought.

It said France took note of the sovereign decision of the People's Republic of Bangladesh to cancel the loan agreements between the Guimet museum in Paris and various cultural institutions in Bangladesh.

"We fully respect this decision while regretting the cancellation of an event likely to enhance the cultural presence of Bangladesh throughout the world," the release noted.

It said, "France reaffirms its readiness to carry on its cooperation with the People's Republic of Bangladesh in the friendly manner that has always prevailed."

The French embassy cancelled its press conference scheduled for yesterday (Thursday), "considering the complex situation and the ongoing investigations."

It said, "The French Embassy, while fully cooperating with the investigating authorities, will wait for the results of these