Haris Chy to be implicated: investigator

Former prime minister Khaleda Zia's Political Adviser Haris Chowdhury has links with the August 21, 2004 grenade attack, the chief investigator in the case has said, reports bdnews24.com. Special police superintendent of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Abdul Kahhar Akand Sunday revealed the information in his application for extension of the deadline for submitting the further probe report in the case. Dhaka's Second Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Fazila Begum set June 22 for the submission. The grisly grenade attack on Awami League meeting at Bangabandhu Avenue in Dhaka had left 24 people, including incumbent President M Zillur Rahman's wife Ivy Rahman, dead and 73 injured. Splinters of the grenades also impaired the hearing of then the opposition leader Sheikh Hasina, now the prime minister. The investigation officer in his plea said police could not arrest Haris, also a former BNP joint secretary general as he has been absconding. A case was filed with the Motijheel police, and later, two separate charge sheets were pressed against 22 people, including BNP leader and former deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu and Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) leader Mufti Hannan, for murder, attempted murder and illegal carrying of explosives. BNP Acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on May 14 had alleged, "We know that NSI Director Shafiqullah and CID's Special Superintendent Abdul Kahhar Akand are conspiring to implicate Tarique in the two cases." He also threatened that actions would be taken against them once BNP returns to power. Following that, a general diary was also filed against Fakhrul.