DHAKA, 27 December 2005 — Bangladesh has invited another Interpol team to assist the country's intelligence agencies in investigating the grenade attack on an Awami League rally in Dhaka on Aug. 21, 2004. The bomb attack had killed 22 people including Awami League leader Ivy Rahman. The bomb went off soon after the speech of Awami League chief Hasina Wajed.
A Home Ministry official said: "Interpol has been requested to send another team to Bangladesh to help complete the probe into the incident."
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is probing the grenade attack. A few Interpol teams were involved in the investigation at the request of Dhaka. The last Interpol team visited Bangladesh in June.
CID chief Ruhul Amin told newsmen yesterday the probe made much headway with the arrest of George Miah, Hashem and Shafi. All of them confessed to their involvement in the attack.
George Miah, Hashem and Shafi told a court, top terrorists Mukul and Joy were the masterminds of the grenade attack. Both Mukul and Joy are now in the Indian state of West Bengal running a business there, the CID source said.
Following information gleaned from Hashem and Shafi, the CID recovered a revolver belonging to Joy from a hide-out used by Shafi. The revolver license was issued to Joy in 1997. Joy was carrying the revolver during the attack. Shafi told investigators he had recently visited India and met Joy and Mukul.
Although there has been substantial progress in the probe nobody has been charged with carrying out the attack.
Ruhul Amin said charges can be framed against people in the light of statements by Hashem and Shafi but the police were waiting to arrest a few more people involved in the attack.
So far, 20 people have been arrested in the case. The investigation team has complained about non-cooperation from the Awami League leaders.
Meanwhile, at least four people were injured on Sunday when a small homemade bomb exploded at a trade fair in the Bangladeshi capital, police and hospital sources said.
Police investigators said the blast was caused by a crude bomb - a small tin pot filled with explosives and nail splinters - near a gate as visitors queued up to enter the Dhaka Trade Fair.
Police suspect the bomb was hurled by muggers fleeing the scene, an officer at a control room inside the venue said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media. Such crude bombs are often used by criminals to create panic in Bangladesh.
Earlier, an on-duty officer at the control room had said the blast may have been caused by a tire bursting.
One of the injured, with splinter injuries on his side and chest, was admitted to state-run Dhaka Medical College Hospital, an on-duty doctor said on condition of anonymity under official briefing rules.
"I heard a loud bang and I fainted," the doctor quoted the patient, named as Parvez, as saying.
Three other victims, including an off-duty policeman, his wife and a tea vendor, were given first aid for minor injuries, the doctor said.
The fair, an annual event, was crowded Sunday with visitors enjoying a holiday for Christmas.
The blast, coming on the heals of a string of deadly bombings, caused general panic, with many visitors hurriedly leaving the fair area - close to Bangladesh's parliament building, witnesses said.
