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Bangladesh
Mufti Hannan, 13 other Huji men indicted for Ramna blasts
2009-04-17
[Bangla Daily Star] Eight years into the Ramna Batamul blast, a Dhaka court yesterday framed charges against 14 operatives of outlawed Islamist outfit Harkatul Jihad al Islami (Huji) including its chief Mufti Abdul Hannan in two cases filed in connection with the incident.

Metropolitan Sessions Judge ANM Bashir Ullah rejected the discharge petitions submitted by the counsels for Hannan and five others and framed charges against all 14 accused.

Ten people were killed and scores injured in the blast at Ramna Batamul during Pahela Baishakh celebrations on April 14, 2001. Following the carnage, two cases -- one for murder and the other for possession and use of explosive substances -- were filed with the Ramna Police Station.
List of names at the link: you don't know any of them ...
All five arrestees were produced before the court amid tight security. Akbar was also present at the court. They pleaded not guilty after the charges brought against them were read out.

Moulana Tajuddin, younger brother of former BNP deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu, and seven other accused have been absconding since filing of the cases. Charges were framed against them in absentia.

The court fixed April 28, 29 and 30 for trial of the case filed under the Explosive Substances Act and set May 3, 4 and 5 for trial of the murder case. It also summoned complainants in the cases to appear before it on the scheduled dates.

Both the prosecution and the defence had earlier completed hearing on charge framing. The prosecution argued that the charges brought against the accused were primarily proved and they be charged with carrying out the bomb attack. But the defence prayed for clearing their clients of the charges saying the charges brought against them were false, fabricated and baseless.

On December 30 last year, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) pressed charges against Huji chief Mufti Abdul Hannan and 13 others for committing the offence.

CID Inspector Abu Hena Mohammad Yusuf, investigation officer (IO) in both the cases, submitted the charge sheets to the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court showing 84 people as prosecution witnesses. Following the incident, Akbar was arrested for his alleged involvement in the blast. He gave a confessional statement to a magistrate disclosing Mufti Hannan's involvement in the incident.

The investigation remained incomplete although it got a boost after the caretaker government came to power. During investigation, three others including Hannan and Jewel gave confessional statements to magistrates on different dates.

The charge sheets said the Huji members orchestrated the attack at their headquarters and the Saat Gambuj Mosque, both located in the capital's Mohammadpur.

Suman, Jewel, Johnny and Sujan carried the bombs to Ramna Park that day. Posing as decorators, they entered the park through the gate adjacent to the National Tennis Complex at around 4:00am. Johnny detonated the bombs by remote control.

The charge sheets also said Ramna Batamul, where thousands of people gather to celebrate the Bangla New Year, was chosen as the target because Huji considers Pahela Baishakh celebrations anti-Islamic.

Moulana Tajuddin supplied the bombs. He also supplied grenades for carrying out the attack on an Awami League rally on Bangabandhu Avenue on August 21, 2004.
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Bangladesh
Mufti Hannan, 13 other Huji men charged
2008-12-01
Over seven and a half years after the Ramna Batamul blast, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) yesterday pressed charges against 14 operatives of banned Islamist outfit Harkatul Jihad Al Islami (Huji) in two cases filed for the carnage.

CID Inspector Abu Hena Mohammad Yusuf, investigation officer (IO) in both cases, submitted the charge sheets before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court in Dhaka.

The bloodbath that took place during Pahela Baishakh celebrations on April 14, 2001 left 10 people dead and scores injured.

Of the cases filed with Ramna Police Station, one was for murder and the other for possession and use of explosive substances. At a press briefing following the submission of charge sheets, CID chief Additional Inspector General Mohammad Javed Patwari said some 22 Huji members were directly involved in the blast. But charges have been pressed against 14 as addresses of the remaining eight were not found. A supplementary charge sheet, he added, would be submitted against the eight after getting their full addresses.

The charge-sheeted accused are Mufti Abdul Hannan Munshi alias Abul Kalam, Arif Hasan Suman alias Abdur Razzak, Moulana Akbar Hossain alias Helaluddin, Shahadat Ullah alias Jewel, Moulana Abu Taher, Moulana Abdur Rauf, Moulana Mohammad Tajuddin, Moulana Abdul Hannan Sabbir, Moulana Shawkat Osman alias Sheikh Farid, Hafez Jahangir Alam Badar, Moulana Abu Bakar alias Selim Hawlader, Mufti Shafiqur Rahman, Moulana Yahiya and Mufti Abdul Hye.

Of them, Hannan, Suman, Akbar, Jewel, Abu Taher and Rauf are behind bars and the others are still at large.

CID sources said the six Huji detainees stand accused in some other blast cases as well. Akbar, Mufti Hannan and Jewel have confessed to a court their involvement in the attacks including the August 21 grenade blasts on an Awami League rally.

The additional inspector general said the Huji members had planned the attack at their headquarters and Saat Gambuz Mosque, both located in the city's Mohammadpur area.

Suman, Jewel, Johnny and Sujan carried the bombs to Ramna Park that day. Posing as decorators, they entered through the gate adjacent to the National Tennis Complex at around 4:00am. Johnny detonated the bomb by remote control.

The CID chief said Ramna Batamul, where people pour in to celebrate the Bengali New Year, had been chosen as the target because the Huji considers Pahela Boishakh revels anti-Islamic.

The bombs were supplied by Moulana Tajuddin. Former deputy minister and BNP leader Abdus Salam Pintu's younger brother, he also supplied grenades for the August 21 grenade attack.
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Bangladesh
Charge sheets in 2 cases likely tomorrow
2008-11-29
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is likely to submit tomorrow the charge sheets of the two cases connected with the bomb attacks at Ramna Batamul accusing 14 leaders and activists of Harkatul Jihad (Huji).

CID Chief Additional Inspector General Jabed Patwari Thursday said, "All formalities have been completed and we are prepared to submit the charge sheets on Sunday."

The home ministry has given the CID green signal for submitting the charge sheets, he told The Daily Star in reply to a question. The ministry is aware of the progress of investigation as the cases are under the supervision of its monitoring cell, he added.

CID sources said on public prosecutor's suggestion the investigation officer collected video footage of the incident on April 14, 2001, which killed 10 persons and injured a number of others.

Investigation officer CID Inspector Abu Hena Mohammad Yusuf declined to make any comment. But the CID sources confirmed that two charge sheets have been readied: the charge sheet for the murder case contains over 650 pages and that for the case filed under the Explosives Act has about 550 pages.

They said 24 Huji men carried out the attacks but 14 have been named in the charge sheets as investigators could not collect details of the rest. They, however, identified one as Suman who died in the blast.

The accused Huji men are Mufti Hannan, Mufti Abdur Rouf, Hafez Maulana Abu Taher, Arif Hasan alias Suman, Shahadat Ullah alias Jewel, Sheikh Farid alias Rahmat Ullah alias Shawkat Osman, Mufti Shafiqur Rahman, Hafez Maulana Yiahia, Mufti Abdul Hai alias Abu Naim, Maulana Tajuddin, Jahangir Badar, Abdul Hannan, Hafez Abu Bakkar and Maulana Akbar Hossain.

CID sources said they so far arrested 25 suspects. Of them Mufti Hannan, Mamun-ur-Rashid, Mozahar Naim Hossain alias Mahmud, Habibullah Mizan, Badrul Alam Mizan, Hafiz Syed Nadim Sharif, Oliar Rahman, Mahmudur Rahman Babu, Arif Hasan Suman, Oli Ullah, Abdul Latif and Abdur Rouf are now in jail.

Twelve others--Rezaul Islam, Matiur Rahman, Mostafizur Rahman, Habibur Rahman, Abdul Awal, Enayet Ullah, Abdullah Al Mamun, Ibrahim Khalil, Maulana Akbar Hossain, Rafiqul Islam, Yasin and Oliar Rahman--are on bail while the other--Mizanur Rahman--has been absconding since obtaining bail.

The arrested also face charges of other bomb attacks, including the August 21 attack on an Awami League rally. Maulana Akbar Hossain, Mufti Hannan and Jewel confessed before the court their involvement in the attacks.

Investigation sources said detained former deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu's brother fugitive Maulana Tajuddin, who is an accused in the August 21 grenade attack case also, supplied the bombs for the attacks. Pintu is also an accused in the August 21 bomb attack case.
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Bangladesh
CID starts quizzing Huji leader Suman
2008-05-01
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) yesterday started quizzing Harkat-ul-Jihad (Huji) leader Arif Hasan Suman in connection with the Ramna Batamul blast during Pahela Baishakh celebration on April 14, 2001.

CID Inspector Abu Hena Mohammad Yusuf took Suman, who is also an accused in August 21 grenade attack on Awami League rally in 2004, to their custody in the afternoon. Suman was produced before a court on April 28 with a prayer for a remand of 10 days, but the court granted three days. “We will quiz him to collect information about the entire plan of the blast and the names of those behind the brutal incident,” said the CID inspector while talking to The Daily Star.

Earlier, Huji boss Mufti Hannan in his confessional statement said Suman was the carrier of the bombs exploded at Ramna Batamul. Intelligence officials said though Suman confessed to his involvement in August 21 grenade attack before the magistrate on April 25, they are not satisfied with his statement. They would thump beat whack interrogate Suman for more information about the August 21 grenade attack during his remand. The Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) sources said they will also take Suman to TFI cell for squeezing in connection with the AL rally attack case.
Hmmm... How's his heart? He doesn't look too healthy to me. Sure do hope he doesn't die of heart failure whilst being moved.
I hear the stairwell leading to the TFI cell is a little slippery. Especially when mopped and waxed. Be careful in that stairwell, Suman ...
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Bangladesh
2 more Huji men held for link to Aug 21, Ramna blasts
2007-11-28
Police yesterday arrested two wanted Harkatul Jihad Al Islami (Huji) operatives in the city for their suspected links to the August 21 grenade attacks on an Awami League rally in 2004 and Ramna Batamul blasts in 2001. Police arrested the two, Maulana Mohammad Monir Hossain, 35, and Maulana Mohammad Idris, 30, at around 11:00am after a raid on a student mess in Zakir Hossain Road in Mohammadpur. Police said both the arrested are active members of Huji.

Sources in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) said Monir Hossain is a brother of another Huji leader Moulana Abu Taher who is now on police remand for involvement in the August 21 grenade blasts case. The CID started a manhunt after Huji operations commander Mufti Abdul Hannan in his confessional statement mentioned that Monir introduced him to Moulana Taijuddin who supplied Hannan with grenades used in the August 21 blasts.
Taijuddin who is now a fugitive, suspected to be in hiding in South Africa, is the brother of a BNP leader and a former deputy minister.
Taijuddin who is now a fugitive, suspected to be in hiding in South Africa, is the brother of a BNP leader and a former deputy minister.

CID Inspector Abu Hena Mohammad Yusuf, who is the investigation officer of the case, in his forwarding report said Mufti Hannan in his confessional statement recorded on November 19 last year mentioned that Monir and Idris were present in the meeting where the plan for the bomb blasts at Ramna Batamul were sketched. He asked that the arrested two be remanded for 10 days each for interrogation but the Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Al-Mamun granted them five days remand.

In his confessional statement Mufti Hannan had also said that seven Huji operatives, including two Dhaka College students, Hasan and Omar Faruq, carried out the attacks on the Pahela Baishakh celebrations at Ramna Batamul in 2001. The others are Abu Taher, Sheikh Farid, Abu Bakar, Yeahia and Abdul Hye.

Hannan had also said that the grenades used in the attack had been smuggled into Bangladesh and that one Taijuddin, owner of a wire factory at Chakbazar in Old Dhaka, supplied the grenades and bombs.
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Bangladesh
JMB member placed on 7-day remand
2007-05-08
A Dhaka court yesterday placed a Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) member on a seven-day remand in connection with a case filed for bomb explosions at Ramna Batamul in 2001. Metropolitan Magistrate Mir Ali Reza passed the order when CID Inspector Abu Hena Mohammad Yusuf, who is also the investigation officer (IO), produced the JMB member, Abdullah Al Tasnim, before the court amid tight security.

He was brought to the court on completion of his seven-day remand in connection with bomb blasts at a CPB rally at Paltan in the capital on January 20, 2001. In the forwarding report, CID Inspector Anwar Hossain mentioned that Tasnim gave important information about the bomb explosions. So, he should be confined to jail custody until the investigation of the case completes, the IO said. Seeking a ten-day remand for Tasnim in connection with the Ramna bomb blast case, IO Abu Hena said Tasnim is an active member of JMB and vital clue will be found out if he is quizzed. Ten people died and several others were injured on April 14, 2001 when bombs went off at Ramna Batamul during the Bengali New year's celebrations.
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Bangladesh
Mufti Hannan placed on 5-day remand
2007-05-01
Mufti Abdul Hannan, operations commander of banned Islamist outfit Harkatul Jihad (Huji), was placed on a five-day remand yesterday in connection with a case filed for bomb explosions at Ramna Batamul in 2001. Another Huji leader Abdur Rouf was also remanded for five days in the same case.

Metropolitan Magistrate Shamsul Alam passed the order when CID Inspector Abu Hena Mohammad Yusuf, who is also the investigation officer (IO), produced them before the court under a tight security. Earlier, Hannan was remanded in the case and he made a confessional statement on November 19 last year. Ten people died and several others were injured on April 14, 2001 when bombs went off at Ramna Batamul during the Bengali New year's celebration.

On June 14, 2001, Maulana Akbar Hussain, one of the arrestees, made a confessional statement to a metropolitan magistrate disclosing involvements of Mufti Hannan and others with the blasts.
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Bangladesh
Two more Huji men shown held in Ramna blast case
2006-10-17
Two more Huji (Harkatul Jihad) members arrested in connection with the bomb attack on the British high commissioner were shown arrested in the Ramna Batamul blast case and were placed on a seven-day remand yesterday. They are -- Hafij Syed Nayeem of village Syedpur under Jagannathpur upazila of Sunamganj and Badrul Alam Mizan of Habiganj Sadar upazila.

Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Shamsul Alam passed the order when CID Inspector Abu Hena Mohammad Yusuf, also the investigation officer (IO) of the Ramna blast case, sought a ten-day remand. Earlier, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) with the help of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) produced the two, also close accomplices of Mufti Abdul Hannan, operations commander of the banned Islamist outfit Huji, before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's (CMM) Court, Dhaka.

In the forwarding report placed before the court, the IO said that the two Huji men were earlier arrested and remanded for their alleged involvement with the bomb attack on British High Commissioner Anwar Choudhury in 2004. During interrogations, they admitted that they also blasted bombs at the Ramna Batamul. So, they need to be quizzed to find out vital clues to the blasts, the IO added. Earlier, Hannan, his brother Mohibullah alias Mofizur Rahman, also a Huji member, and his accomplice Azahar alias Mamun were also shown arrested in the Ramna Batamul blast case and were interrogated on remand.

Ten people died and several others were injured on April 14, 2001 when bombs went off at the Pahela Baishakh celebrations at the Ramna Batamul. On June 14, 2001, one of the arrestees, Maulana Akbar Hussain, gave a confessional statement to a metropolitan magistrate and disclosed names of Mufti Hannan and others involved with the blasts.
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Bangladesh
Hannan shown arrested in CPB blast case
2006-09-20
Investigation into the CPB bomb blast case has taken a new turn after a three-year lull as Mufti Abdul Hannan, operations commander of banned Harkatul Jihad (Huji) Bangladesh, was shown arrested in the case and remanded for 10 days yesterday.

The case was filed for bomb blasts on a rally of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) at Paltan Maidan on January 21, 2001. Five people were killed and 50 others injured in the incident. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) accompanied by Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) produced Hannan before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's (CMM) Court, Dhaka at 1:30pm yesterday under a tight security and submitted a petition for showing him arrested in the case. The CID also submitted a petition for placing him on a ten-day remand for interrogation in connection with the blasts.

On completion of Hannan's eight-day remand in the Ramna Batamul carnage case, CID Inspector Abu Hena Mohammad Yusuf, also the investigation officer (IO) of the case, said Hannan gave important information about the carnage and should be confined in jail until the investigation completes. In the forwarding report placed before the court, CID Assistant Superintendent of Police and IO of the CPB bomb blast case Syed Momin Hossain said Hannan might be involved in the incident. The Huji leader needs to be intensively interrogated to find out vital clues to the bomb attack and the whereabouts of his accomplices responsible for it, the IO added. After the hearing, Metropolitan Magistrate Shafiq Anwar granted the petition for showing Hannan arrested in the case and placed him on the remand.
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