Police have accused Mufti Izharul Islam Chowdhury, principal of Jamiatul Uloom Al-Islamia Madrasa and nayeb-e-ameer of Islamist group Hefazat-e-Islam, and his son Mufti Harun Izhar in two cases filed in connection with an explosion at the madrasa on Monday.
They have also included 10 other identified and many unidentified people in the cases filed with Khulshi police station on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Habib, 25, one of the injured in the explosion and later arrested, succumbed to his injuries at Chittagong Medical College Hospital early on Tuesday.
Banaj Kumar Majumder, additional commissioner of Chittagong Metropolitan Police, said they had recovered another hand grenade from the place of explosion at the madrasa locally known as Lalkhana Bazar madrasa on Tuesday morning.
“We are conducting drives to arrest the other accused in the cases,” he said.
Khulshi police station OC Mainul Islam said Sub-Inspector Golam Newaj had filed a case under the explosives act, accusing 12 people, including Izhar and his son Harun, and many unidentified others; and another under the acid control act, accusing Izhar and Harun in connection with the recovery of picric acid from Izhar’s residence.
According to Wikipedia, picric acid formally called 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP) is explosive in nature like other highly nitrated compounds such as TNT, and Banaj Kumar Majumder said it was used to amplify the magnitude of explosion.
An official of Chittagong Metropolitan Police said they had raided Darul Uloom Madrasa in Chandanpura area in the afternoon, following a lead on Izhar’s presence, but the Hefazat leader had not been there. “We have arrested five persons for interrogation,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.
On a visit to the Lalkhan madrasa on Tuesday afternoon, none but law enforcement agency personnel were found there as the madrasa had been closed for an indefinite period and students had been asked to leave the dormitories by 10am.
Police on Tuesday produced Habibur Rahman, Mohammed Ishaque, Monir Hossain, Abdul Mannan and Tafsir Ahmed all arrested on Monday in connection with the explosion before the court and placed a prayer for seven days’ remand.
Metropolitan Magistrate Nur-e-Alam Bhuyan fixed Wednesday for hearing the remand prayer.
A massive explosion rocked Lalkhan Bazar Madrasa at about 11am on Monday, leaving at least five persons critically injured.
The police recovered three hand grenades and huge materials for making grenades from a room of a dormitory of the madrasa where the explosion had taken place.
Later, the police raided Mufti Izhar’s residence at night and seized 18 bottles of picric acid and arrested five persons, including four teachers of the madrasa.
The law enforcers had earlier arrested four injured Nurun Nabi, Salman, Zubair Ahmed and Habib when they had been receiving treatment at two private hospitals after the incident.
A security personnel on duty at the hospital said Habib had talked to them even an hour before he died.
Requesting anonymity, he said Habib had told him that the explosion took place soon after Nurun Nabi had kept his bag coming into the room.
Nabi, a diploma engineer who sustained 90% burn injury, was shifted to Dhaka for treatment late Monday.
