Law enforcers failed to prevent a grenade attack on a Tazia procession at Hussaini Dalan in the Chawkbazar area early Saturday despite having information about a possible attack beforehand.
A teenager was killed and over 100 Tazia procession participants injured in the early hours Saturday when at least three handmade grenades were blasted on the Hussaini Dalan premises during preparation for the traditional procession.
Due to a lack of adequate time, the Shia authorities also failed to install metal detector archways. MM Firoz Hossain, superintendent of Hussaini Dalan, said that they had planned to install archways but could not do so due to a shortage of time.
Police claimed that they had asked the Hussaini Dalan authorities not to bring out the procession in the night. But Shia community leaders decided to continue with their traditional programme, DMP Additional Commissioner Sheikh Mohammad Maruful Hasan said.
Investigators said they could not identify the suspected attackers from CCTV footage as of last night. Several ministers and the police have blamed anti-liberation forces and members of the BNP for the attack.
A case was filed against unnamed persons yesterday afternoon. The investigation was later transferred to the Detective Branch, who are interrogating four people detained over the incident.
The attack took place around 1:45am on Saturday when members of the Shia community had gathered at the historic religious site to bring out a procession. This is the first time in Bangladesh’s history that a Shia procession has been attacked.
According to eyewitnesses, the first grenade exploded near the main gate of the establishment with a huge bang creating panic among the people. The two other bombs exploded on the premises within a short period of time.
The law enforcers yesterday claimed that the grenades were thrown from the graveyard beside the Hussaini Dalan where the two attackers had taken position.
Splinters hit Sazzad Hossain Sanju, 16, when he was standing beside the gate, and killed him. Another critically injured, Mohammad Jamal Hossain, 55, was entering the premises at that time.
The investigators said that at least five hand grenades had been charged. Three of the grenades exploded, one was found unexploded while another found intact. The law enforcers later exploded the recovered bomb while the other was seized by the DB’s bomb disposal unit.
They said that the grenades had been thrown from inside the graveyard. From the CCTV footage, they said that the number of attackers was more than two as the grenade pin was too tight to handle by a single person and then throwing it within 30 seconds.
Additional Deputy Commissioner of DB’s bomb disposal unit Sanowar Hossain said that the grenades had been made by local people using local materials. “The grenade pins that were found from the graveyard’s eastern side and in front of the boundary of the graveyard indicate that those were locally made and not supplied from outside the country.”
Another DB official said seeking anonymity: “The attackers were not well trained. If so, then the attacks might have killed a number of people. At least five persons could be killed by a single grenade.”
According to the investigators, the attackers did not use the main gate to leave the place. They might have used one of the two other escape routes.
Chawkbazar police Sub-Inspector Jalal Uddin, in-charge of security of the area, yesterday filed a case. They also detained four people in this connection. The detainees are Abdul Quader Jilani, 31, Shafiqul Islam, 28, Morsalin, 19, and Mohammad Faisal, 16.
Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidul Haque said that they had been informed of an attack but could not confirm the place and time.
DMP Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia while visiting the victims at Dhaka Medical College Hospital told reporters that they had collected footage from all the 16 CCTV cameras installed near the spot and were analysing the footage to find the culprits.
The DMP Headquarters on Saturday formed a three-strong probe body led by Additional Commissioner(crime and ops) Sheikh Mohammad Maruful Hasan. The other members are DMP Joint Commissioner Meer Rezaul Karim and DB Deputy Commissioner (south zone) Mashrulur Rahman Khaled.