The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

As many as 41 powerful Arges hand grenades were recovered following the arrest of a high-ranking leader of banned Islamic militant outfit Harkatul Jihad (HuJi) and one of his close associates from Gazipur and Satkhira by Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) last week.

Along with the grenades, the arrested Mufti Mainuddin Sheikh alias Abu Zindal, a top-ranking leader of HuJi and his close associate Nazrul Islam Ghorami were produced at a crowded press briefing at RAB headquarters in the city's Uttara yesterday morning.

Addressing the press briefing, RAB director general Hasan Mahmud Khandaker said that the same type of grenades were used to attack on Awami League rally at Bangabandhu Avenue on August 21, 2004.

He said 41 grenades seized from Satkhira Friday night were identical to the grenades exploded at the AL rally.

However, the grenades recovered from Satkhira were manufactured recently, RAB DG said.

Zindal was arrested from the guest room of Memberbari Jame Mosque in Baniarchala in Gazipur on Thursday by the members of RAB-6.

According to his confession, members of the RAB Intelligence Wing and the RAB-6 carried out a joint raid into Nazrul Islam Ghorami house at village Shimulia at Debhata in Satkhira district on Friday morning. They later recovered 41 Arges grenades from underneath the ground near a pond of Nazrul.

RAB DG said both were the senior figures of banned Islamist outfit Harkatul Jihad. "RAB will handover this case to CID. They will investigate this case and find out other militants," he said.

RAB headquarter sources said that after interrogating the arrested accused of the grenade attack, RAB came to know that Abu Zindal, close accomplice of detained Huji chief Mufti Hannan, was also involved in the attack.

The arrested militant group has been accused of carrying out the Aug 21 grenade attack targeting Sheikh Hasina during an AL rally in 2004.