Intelligence agencies deny link of JMB to BDR carnage

Intelligence agencies have found no link of militant organisations to last month’s mutiny at the BDR headquarters on February 25- 26 that left 74 army officers dead.

Some 900 members of BDR have so far been arrested in connection with the massacre and alleged involvement in looting inside the headquarters during the two fateful days.

Investigators have reportedly found direct involvement of 650 members of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) in the carnage. Most of them are in sub jail at Peelkhana BDR headquarters.

Members of Operation Rebel Hunt have so far rounded up 222 BDR personnel.

Police said most of them did not resume duties and violated the government order. They were being quizzed at the camp of Operation Rebel Hunt in different districts.

Law enforcement agencies have further geared up their operations in the Sundarbans on the information that some fugitive BDR men have joined notorious groups of pirates with arms they looted from Peelkhana.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID)A on Monday produced 19 BDR jawans before a Metropolitan court in the capital seeking another five-day remand for each.

Of them two BDR personnel were in Task Force Interrogation Cell.

Intelligences agencies said they already interrogated more than 50 BDR personnel who were directly involved in the mutiny.

But we have no information or evidence which indicate the connection with banned militant outfit Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) or that of extremists inside the country with the Taliban militants in Afghanistan. The remanded of ringleader of the BDR mutiny Deputy Assistant Director (DAD) Syed Towhidul Alam and his four others colleague DAD Mohammad Abdur Rahim, Habilder Azad Ali, Nayek Mohammad Firoj Ahmed, Jawan Mohammad Zakir Hossain and cook Amirul Islam ended seven days ago.

Meanwhile, Commerce Minister Faruk Khan, who is coordinating the high-powered probe into the incident, said yesterday that militants had used the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) soldiers to make happen the carnage on February 25 and 26.

He said the government would pass necessary amendments to laws, if needed, to fight militancy and to try the BDR soldiers who are still on the run.

The ministers told journalist after a seminar at the auditorium of the Engineers Institute in the city.

“There is no need to make a fresh decision to uproot the extremists. Every citizen of Bangladesh wants the extremists to be uprooted. But as we said, this task will be done according to the existing laws. Noting will be done unlawfully,” he added.

The minister also said the government has asked the people to remain alert to any possible ill attempts from the BDR soldiers who had fled with grenades and firearms during the mutiny.

Khan said investigation would reveal how such radical militants had been inducted into the BDR.

Source: The New Nation

UN asked to return Bangladeshi forces

United Nations [UN] has been asked to send back members of Bangladesh Armed Forces and police from the United Nations Peace Keeping Forces [UNPKF].

According to information, one Susan Ramgopalan sent letters to the Secretary General and other officials of United Nations on March 15, 2009 titled ‘Islamist inside UN Peace Keeping Force’, where she referring to the recent statement by Bangladeshi Commerce Minister, Lt. Col. [Retired] Faruk Khan, requested the UN Secretary General to send back all the participating members of Bangladesh Armed Forces and Police in the UNPKF for possible militancy connections.

In the letter, Susan Ramgopalan said, “It has come to my attention that one of the front ranking leaders in Bangladesh’s ruling party, Awami League, member of the Cabinet and Member of Parliament, Lt. Col. Faruk Khan recently told reporters that Islamist militants like Jamiatul Mujuhidin (JMB) has penetrated into country’s border security forces.

”It is noteworthy that officers of border security forces are deputed from country’s armed forces. Under such authoritative statement from a senior member of the Bangladesh government, it is greatly assumed that there are unknown number of Islamist militants even within the other disciplined forces, including army and police.

”United Nations had been welcoming members of Bangladesh Armed Forces and Police for quite some time. But, after the latest statement from the government side, the question of security of continuing services of such elements with militancy ties would not only jeopardize the safety and security of the countries of their activities, but it may even give the militancy linked members of Bangladesh Armed Forces and Police in staging various forms of sabotaging activities in the foreign countries.

”Under such situation, further recruitment of Bangladeshi forces both from army and police should be stopped while an immediate scrutiny should begin to identify the militancy linked members of Bangladesh Armed Forces and Police inside United Nations Peace Keeping Forces and be immediately expelled from such sensitive task.”

It is also learnt that, anti-Bangladesh quarters are actively trying to press forward the issue of militant connection of Bangladesh Armed Forces, Police and other disciplined forces, with the motive of tarnishing the image of the country. They [vested quarters] get specific prove in favor of their allegation, as the Commerce Minister in Bangladesh has repeatedly told this matter to the media as well as some other ministers are also echoing the same information.

“This is a dangerous trend, which will project Bangladesh as a Taliban state to the international community”, said a counter-terrorism experts commenting on the statement of the commerce minister and other members of the present government.

Source: Weekly Blitz

Samaraweera hit in chest: Geo TV

Sri Lankan cricketer Thilan Samaraweera has been hit in the chest, after gunmen fired on his team’s bus as it drove into Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Tuesday, reports Pakistan’s Geo TV.

Lahore Police chief Habib-ur-Rehman said five people were killed in the attack by a dozen gunmen, who fired AK 47s and rockets and hurled grenades as the bus drove to the 60,000-seater stadium.

Sri Lanka’s sports minister said five players and an assistant coach were wounded, two of whom were being treated in hospital.

The Samaraweera seemed to be the worst hit among his team members.

Police said it was unclear whether injuries were caused by bullets, shrapnel or flying shards of glass.

“Police are chasing the terrorists,” police chief Habib-ur-Rehman said. “They appeared to be trained men.”

The attack had echoes with one on the Indian city of Mumbai in November which led to the Indian cricket team cancelling its planned tour of Pakistan.

India blamed that attack on Pakistan-trained militants and the incident sharply raised tension between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

Sri Lanka, which had been invited to Pakistan after India pulled out, immediately cancelled the rest of the tour.

“We are trying to bring the team back as quickly as possible,” a Sri Lankan cricket official said.

Pakistan TV showed footage of gunmen with rifles and backpacks running through the streets and firing on unidentified vehicles.

The driver of the Sri Lankan team coach said one of the attackers had thrown a grenade under the bus, but it did not detonate.

A witness told Reuters he believed two police commandos were killed along with a regular policeman and a traffic warden.

Shopkeeper Ahmed Ali said the two police commandos had been driving behind the team bus when they were hit.

“It was a very heavy firing and I heard at least two explosions at the time,” said a Reuters witness who had been on his way to cover the test match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankan cricket players shot in terrorist attack in Lahore

At least six players in the Sri Lankan national cricket team were hurt when masked gunmen fired on the team bus in Lahore while being driven to the Gaddafi stadium on Tuesday.

Six Pakistani policemen and two civilians were killed when 12 masked gunmen on rickshaws attacked with guns, grenades and rockets.

The team bus came under fire as the players headed to the stadium for the third day of the second Test against Pakistan.

Thilan Samaraweera was one of those hurt along with Tharanga Paranavitana. Both are in hospital. Samaraweera has a bullet wound to his thigh. Paranavitana has a gash to his chest from shrapnel.

Those wounded with minor shrapnel injuries were skipper Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Chaminda Vaas and Ajantha Mendis.

Samaweera scored back-to-back double centuries in this series, 214 yesterday and 231 in the first Test in Karachi last week.

The assistant coach of the Sri Lankan cricket team, Paul Farbrace from England, was injured by shrapnel.

It was previously reported that Australian Trevor Bayliss sustained minor injuries, but this is not correct.

“The bus came under attack as we were driving to the stadium, the gunmen targeted the wheels of the bus first and then the bus,” Jayawardene told Cricinfo.

“We all dived to the floor to take cover. About five players have been injured and also Paul Farbrace, but most of the injuries appear to be minor at this stage and caused by debris.”

Australian umpires Simon Taufel and Steve Davis were both in the convoy that was fired on, but both were OK, an International Cricket Council spokeswoman said.

“They are both fine and we are in the process of getting both out of Pakistan and back home,” she said.

Match referee Chris Broad was also fine, however the spokeswoman would not comment on the condition of reserve umpire Ahsan Raza.
CNN reported that he was in a critical condition.

Former captain and star batsman Sanath Jayasuriya said he had spoken to the team and was thankful all players and staff were OK.

“I spoke to Kumar Sangakkara … [he said there were] little injuries but everyone is OK, under control, thank God,” he told CNN-IBN.

‘Flesh wounds’

Gavin Scowell, a director of sports channel Ten Sports, said he saw a number of Sri Lankan players with “flesh wounds” soon after the shooting.

Mr Scowell, who was in Pakistan to cover the tour, told CNN-IBN he heard gunfire and ran towards the Sri Lankan dressing room when he saw a number of players being carried in.

He believed about eight players had been hit, many with flesh wounds.

However there was “no panic”, and everyone was “very brave”, he said.

Mr Scowell said he saw spinner Ajatha Mendis with a wound to his head, but he was sitting up in a chair and offered a thumbs up.

‘Grenades lobbed’

Indian TV network Zee News reported two grenades were lobbed at the bus as it moved  from Liberty Chowk to Polo Ground Road.

There was then “indiscriminate firing”, it said.

Sri Lanka is to immediately pull the team out of Pakistan.

History of security fears

The shooting came as the Sri Lankan army pushed its final offensive against ethnic Tamil Tiger rebels in the north of the country in a civil war that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

Fears of attacks by Islamic militants linked to al-Qaeda have caused many teams to postpone or cancel cricket tours to Pakistan in recent years.

Australia earlier this month forced Pakistan to change the venue of a one-day series to the neutral venues of Dubai and Abu Dhabi when the two sides meet in April-May this year over security fears.

Australia, which also played Pakistan in three Tests at the neutral venues of Colombo and Dubai in 2002, have not toured Pakistan since 1998.

India also refused to send its team across the border amid heightened tensions in the wake of attacks on the Indian city of Mumbai, which New Delhi blamed on militants based in Pakistan.

Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are due to jointly host the cricket World Cup in 2011.

Last month, Pakistan’s cricket chief vowed to improve security arrangements for the 10th edition of the four-yearly event and denied there was a risk associated with staging some of the games in the troubled country.

Last month, security concerns raised by other teams forced the ICC to move the 2009 Champions Trophy out of Pakistan.

The elite eight-nation competition was to be held in September-October this year but the ICC was to announce a new venue in April.

The event was originally scheduled for last year but was put off after South Africa pulled out of the event and Australia, England and New Zealand showed reluctance to tour because of fears about players’ safety.

In 2002, the New Zealand cricket team withdrew from a tour of Pakistan after militants exploded a bomb outside the team hotel in Karachi killing 11 French defence technicians.

AFP, Arjun Ramachandran, Jamie Pandaram

Khaleda in JS for first time since Jan 28 walkout

Leader of the opposition Khaleda Zia returned to parliament on Sunday, for the first time since the Jan 28 walkout of BNP MPs.

The Jatiya Sangsad was sitting from 4pm after two day’s break, with MPs of ruling and opposition parties joining the House on the concluding day of a national mourning period for those killed in the BDR mutiny.

The opposition parties, led by BNP, had earlier boycotted the House in a weeks-long protesting against seating arrangements.

BNP returned to the parliament on Feb 22, just days before the Feb 25-26 mutiny by border guards at Peelkhana that left scores of officers dead.

BDR troops reporting back in hundreds

BDR troops in their hundreds were seen reporting back to the Peelkhana headquarters Sunday, in line with the government notice issued the day before ordering return to posts within 24 hours.

“Over 1,000 BDR men in uniform are gathered at Rifles Square, waiting to report back to work,” reported bdnews24.com correspondent Syedul Islam Talat, at around noon.

“Another 1,000 or so, who are not in uniform but have their ID cards, are gathered at Abahani Sportsground in Dhanmondi,” he said.

“It looks like two to three thousand BDR personnel will have returned to barracks by afternoon.”

A home ministry notice issued at 1.30pm Saturday called all BDR personnel, “absent form their posts in the wake of the quelled mutiny” to join their posts within the next 24 hours.

The border guards, many “absent without leave”, began reporting back to stations in from Saturday evening.

220 fleeing guards caught

The Rapid Action Battalion and police arrested 121 ‘on-the-run’ members of Bangladesh Rifles from the capital, and 99 from elsewhere in the country, up to Saturday evening.

The jawans had mostly escaped the BDR headquarters during the 33-hour mutiny from the morning of Feb 25.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police said 114 fleeing jawans were caught up to Friday and seven on Saturday from different places across the capital.

Most of the arrests were made by RAB who handed the captured over to police, they said. Masudur.

RAB also picked up 99 of the paramilitary border guards from Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, as well as Tangail, Bogra and Rajbari districts, rounding them up from buses and other vehicles that were stopped and searched at various checkpoints.

Some were detained with gold ornaments reportedly looted during the mutiny, RAB officials said. All were fleeing in civilian clothes.

More than one captured jawan said they were escaping the BDR headquarters, site of the mutiny, out of fear.

Source: Internet

Mutineers sued

Lalbagh police filed a case against over a thousand BDR mutineers Sunday, naming DAD Touhidul Alam and five others.

The Lalbagh Thana officer in charge, Nobojyoti Khisha, also named deputy assistant director (DAD) Nasiruddin Khan, DAD Mirza Mahbubur Rahman, Jawan Abdur Rahim, DAD Jalil (one name given) and jawan Selim, police said.

The news of registering a formal, legally cognizable complaint came immediately after the prime minister left the Dhaka cantonment after what appeared to be an emotion-charged encounter with middle-ranking military officers, who lost over a hundred of their colleagues during the two-day mutiny.

The case was however registered at 11:30pm Saturday, Khisha told bdnews24.com Sunday.

The Lalbagh police chief also accused “over a thousand” JCOs and NCOs but did not name them, duty officer Tariqul Islam said.

Source: Internet

PM leaves cantonment after meeting officers

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina left the Dhaka Cantonment after nearly three hours of talks with hundreds of army officers at Sena Kunja Sunday afternoon.

There was no official briefing afterwards for the waiting media on what transpired in the meeting.

Sources with knowledge of the proceedings told bdnews24.com that the prime minister, also defence minister, faced quite “a few awkward questions” from the officers.

The meeting, which began just after 11am, took place in the wake of scores of military officers, deputed to border guards BDR, being killed in the Feb 25-26 mutiny.

The prime minister heard the officers and explained the circumstances as well as the actions the government took to end the rebellion.

As many as 135 army officers were believed killed or missing in the two-day mayhem. The head of the army intelligence said Saturday 72 were still missing, while 63 bodies were found.

The media had been allowed in for a couple of minutes to take pictures and then herded out to facilitate a closed-door session between the prime minister and emotion-charged military officers.

The prime minister’s motorcade left the cantonment at 2pm.

Agriculture minister Motia Chowdhury and the prime minister’s adviser Tareque Ahmed Siddique were with her.

Hasina at Sena Kunja right now

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina arrived at Sena Kunja around 11am on Sunday.

She started from her Hare Road residence at around 10.45am.

The prime minister’s adviser Tareque Ahmed Siddiqui and minister Motia Chowdhury were accompanying her.

Govt to form tribunal, not all mutineers BDR: Ashraf

A special tribunal will be formed to fast-track trial of the perpetrators who “planned” the recent massacre at the BDR headquarters, some of whom were not paramilitary border guards, a minister said Saturday.

“A full investigation into the gory killings will be carried out. The government has some evidence which point to the involvement of people outside of the BDR,” local government minister Syed Ashraful Islam said.

“The law minister has already been instructed to form a special tribunal.

“The law and the clauses under which perpetrators can be tried will be put before the cabinet and then a bill will be tabled in parliament to fast-track the trial process.”

Legal actions would be taken against those whose link to the Feb.25-26 events was proved, said Ashraful, also the ruling Awami League spokesman, after a joint meeting of the cabinet and senior party leaders at prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s official residence.
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He said the meeting strongly condemned the carnage, prayed for the departed souls of the slain army officers and sympathised with their families and renewed resolve to find the killers, instigators.

“Every single one of those responsible will be put in the dock.”

He said some changes will be made to the enquiry committee formed to dig out the truth about how and why the incident happened.

Non-partisan, neutral individuals will carry out investigations and file a report “as soon as possible”, the minister added.

“It’s beyond our words to describe the shock events. Those we’ve lost were our assets. It’ll take a long time to recoup the irreparable loss.

“Those who died in the Peelkhana incident are martyrs. They will be buried with state honour.”

Continued Ashraful: “A monument will be built in remembrance of the slain officers. The families of the dead will each be given Tk 10 lakh and the government will bear their expenses.”

On top of that, the government will help out those affected by the rebellion.

“The prime minister sent out army troops no sooner had she got the news. But it takes time for the army to reach a certain place. Whatever happened in Peelkhana (BDR headquarters) had happened before the army members had reached the scene.

“After that, our main concern was the safety of the hostages. The standoff was resolved quickly considering the security of the people in general apart from the BDR members.

“All the democracies of the world have endorsed the measures taken.”

“If the army stormed the headquarters those who have survived may not have altogether. There’s no scope to do politics over what has happened.

“Some politicians are trying to create problem through misinterpreting the events. We call on all across the political spectrum to get united to resolve the crisis,” Ashraful said.

Source: BDNEWS