BANGLADESH

Home minister Shahara Khatun has contradicted a statement of the Saudi government that a team from the middle-eastern country has come to Bangladesh to investigate the killing of its embassy official.

"The delegation has come to know the progress of investigation into the murder of Khalaf Al-Ali," she said on Wednesday after a meeting with the Saudi team.

Riyadh sent the eight-member team, comprising officials from Saudi home and foreign ministries, as Bangladeshi law enforcers are yet to arrest or identify anyone in the murder case though one month has passed since the incident.

An Arab News report said Bangladeshi police have failed so far to track the killers.

Saudi deputy foreign minister for protocol affairs Alauddin Alaskari told Arab News on Tuesday that the team's main objective is to identify the culprits and bring them to book.

Home secretary C Q K Mustaq Ahmed and inspector general of police Hassan Mahmood Khandker, who were present at the meeting with the Saudi team, also said it has come to know the progress of the investigation.

Quoting members of the visiting team as telling the meeting, Shahara said they have been informed about the investigation from the beginning, and expressed their satisfaction over the probe.

They are likely to meet prime minister Sheikh Hasina also, she added.

According to the schedule, the delegation will have a meeting with the investigators on Thursday.

Asked about progress in the police investigation, the minister said it is advancing 'satisfactorily'. "The investigators are working sincerely."

Unknown gunmen had shot Al-Ali, 45, an official with the consular section of the Saudi embassy in Dhaka, near his Gulshan house in the wee hours of Mar 6.

Later he died at Dhaka's United Hospital, where he had been admitted with severe bullet injuries.

Some 200 Dhaka University students blocked traffic for an hour in the city's Shahbagh area in a rare midnight protest on Wednesday to demand justice for the alleged attacks on Hindus in Satkhira two days ago.

The protesters who live at Jagannath Hall also announced that they would form a human chain in front of the prime minister's office at 10am on Thursday and wear black badges in protest against the attack.

They gathered in the dormitory around 10pm on Wednesday and later took out a procession. They took position at Shahbagh at midnight.

They were seen torching papers and tyres on the street that was not that busy after Wednesday midnight.

Ramna zone police assistant commissioner S M Shibli Noman told around 1am on Thursday that the students were demonstrating peacefully and police had been there to stop them if they turn violent.

The protesters said students of Fatehpur High School at Dakkhin Sripur of Satkhira's Kaliganj upazila on Mar 26 staged a drama Hujur Kebla, written by Abul Mansur Ahmed, to mark the Independence Day.

A local newspaper reported that Prophet Mohammad was disgraced in the drama, they said. The report made local Muslims angry at the school's assistant head teacher Mita Rani and other Hindus in the area, the protesters said.

They reportedly looted around eight homes of Hindus, including that of Mita, in the area and set fire to those houses on Monday alleging that Rani allowed the students to stage the drama to disgrace the prophet with an intention.

Manik Rakkhit, a Jagannath Hall student, demanded exemplary punishment of the attackers.

His fellow Prodip Chowdhury said National Human Rights Commission chairman Mizanur Rahman talks about many other issues but he is silent about torture on Hindus.

He said Monday's attack was similar to that of Chittagong's Hathazari on Feb 10.

The demonstrators urged prime minister Sheikh Hasina to take steps to stop such tortures and punish the attackers.

Rapid Action Battalion now says it cannot trace the businessman whose complaint sent the paramilitary force chasing and killing six 'muggers' in a 'gunfight' in Narsinghdi on Monday.

According to RAB, they had conducted the drive against the 'muggers' following a phone call from a businessman Maruf Hossain.

Though RAB termed the six deceased as 'renowned robbers', found that only two of them had any case against them - one for attempt to robbery and the other one over land dispute.

The rest - four of the deceased and four arrested from the spot – have no cases lodged against them.

Family members of the six suspected muggers have alleged that their killing was pre-planned.

National Human Rights Commission chairman Mizanur Rahman Khan on Wednesday hinted at an investigation into the latest 'gunfight' of RAB, which has been accused of thousands of extra-judicial killings all across the country.

The gunfight reportedly took place around 2:30pm in an area adjacent to bridge number 5 on Narsinghdi-Madanganj road in Narsinghdi Sadar upazila.

RAB on Monday said Maruf informed them that muggers had snatched Tk 40,000 from him and were fleeing in a microbus.

The paramilitary force launched a drive led by RAB-11 commanding officer Lt Col Abu Hena Mostofa. The battalion is headquartered at Adamji in Narayanganj.

RAB was reluctant to disclose the name of the complainant for 'safety reasons' but later gave it out under pressure from the relatives of the deceased.

Police said businessman Maruf Hossain lives in Dhaka's Rayerbazar area.

Asked where he is now, RAB-11 deputy director Maj Khandker Gholam Sarwar told on Wednesday that they are in dark about his whereabouts since the incident.

Narsinghdi Sadar Police Station officer in-charge Asaduzzaman said Maruf had called him, too, through mobile phone.

"I had asked him to file a general diary or case. But he didn't turn up," Asad said.

"He cannot even be traced after the incident," he added.

ONLY 2 OF 10 HAD CASES

The six deceased identified as – Nahid Molla, 18, 'Arif', 18, Masum Afrad, 30, 'Mosharraf', 35, Mobarak Hossain, 30, and 'Jamal', 35.

Investigations by suggest that only two of them had cases against them, though they were described as 'renowned robbers' and 'cause of people's annoyance' by the elite force.

Jamal, son of Akkas Ali from Noakanda village of Polash upazila, had an arrest warrant against him over an allegation that he was found preparing for robbery, Polash Police Station officer in-charge Atikur Rahman Khan said.

Jamal lived in Bhulta of Narayanganj's Rupganj upazila.

Another deceased, Arif, son of Bholanagar area's Abul Hashim Mia, had a case over land dispute, according to the Sadar police chief.

Arif sat for SSC examinations this year from Kararchar Moulvi Tofazzal Hossain High School.

One more deceased, Nahid Molla, son of Hossain Molla of Bilasdi area, was a SSC candidate and had no case against him, OC Asaduzzaman said.

Nahid appeared at the SSC examination from Mir Emdad High School.

His elder brother Lokman Molla, an employee of Narsinghdi municipality, told : "My brother was linked to the incident as part of a conspiracy after being murdered."

Police also said truck driver Masum Afrad, son of Gias Uddin Afrad from Bandardia village of Shibpur upazila's Masimpur union, Mosharraf, son of freedom fighter Abdul Awal from Kurerpar village of Sadar upazila's Meherpara union, and signboard maker Mobarak, son of Kashem Ali from Meratala village of Roypura upazila's Mirzapur union had no cases against them.

Afrad's elder sister Jharna Begum said, "RAB shot dead my brother when he was taking the truck loaded with soil from the spot to Itakhola."

Three people were injured and arrested by RAB from the spot. They are Amar Biswas, 38, of Roypura upazila, 'Masum', 28 and 'Shawon', 25, of Shibpur upazila.

Of them, Amar, son of Sureshchandra Biswas from Pirijkandi village of Roypura upazila, Masum, son of Amin Uddin from Omarkandi village of Shibpur upazila, and Shawon, son of Amin Uddin from the same upazila's Kumardi village, also do not have any cases against them.

Another arrestee, Monir Hossain, 30, son of Suruj Mia from Patharpara village of Sadar upazila, also had no cases.

Monir was sent to jail through court as he has no case against him, RAB-11 deputy director Sarwar said.

Although he claimed that arrestee Masum has a case filed with Shibpur Police Station, officer in-charge there Belayet Hossain said there is no case against him at his police station.

RAB-11 deputy assistant director Jamal Uddin on Tuesday filed three cases against the six deceased and four arrestees over allegations of preparing for robbery, hindering government job and carrying arms illegally.