Please - Odhikar

iv. Recent trend of bomb blasts and grenade attacks
Serious bomb attacks in 63 districts of the country on August 17, 2005 the killing of two judges,
and death of policemen and lawyers in bomb attacks on courts in Gazipur and Chittagong were
also major incidents in 2005. Sixty-two people were killed and 983 were injured in bomb and
grenade attacks last year. Among them, 30 were killed and 347 were injured in attacks by
religious extremists alone. During this time, some 881 suspects were arrested for their alleged
involvement in grenade and bomb attacks across the country.
It is important to note that a total of 196 cases have been filed in connection with the incidents of
country wide bomb attacks on August 17. Charge sheets have been submitted in 96 cases, while
102 cases are under investigation. A total of 642 suspects have been arrested for their alleged
involvement in the August 17 and subsequent incidents of bomb attacks. Of the arrested, 478 are
charge-sheeted accused persons. This information has been compiled from the report on the
human rights situation of the country, which has been prepared by Odhikar on the basis of
reports published in leading national news papers and reports of the fact finding missions of
Odhikar.
a. August 21, 2004
Even though more than one year has passed, the investigation into the August 21 2005 grenade
attack on an Awami League (AL) rally has remained at a stand still as investigators failed to find
any strong evidence. As an obvious result, the government and the investigators came under
strong criticism for their controversial activities carried out in the name of ’probe’. One year into
the bloody incident and the intelligence officials of the country are yet to make any headway
towards identifying the attackers and bringing them to trial. The government announcement of a
Tk 1 crore reward for information about the perpetrators, repeated visits by the Interpol and FBI
experts and the formation of a high-powered judicial probe commission have yielded no result.
Worse still, even though the investigators arrested 15 persons allegedly having a connection with
the attack, they are yet to get a clue about the grisly incident, except for a confessional statement
made by one George Mia - one of the 15 persons arrested.
b. August 17, 2005
After the recent bomb attacks, on 17 August, numerous people were held by the law enforcing a
gencies under section 54 for interrogation. It has been reported that 154 cases were filed against
one Abdur Rahman and ’Bangla Bhai’ - two leading members of the JMB. Of these, charge
sheets have been filed against the two in 47 cases. Of the mass arrests made by the police after
the incident, it was alleged that a majority of those apprehended were mostly innocent, which
was also discovered late by the police, who later released them. However, there have been
allegations of torture during the arrest and detention in police custody.
c. October bomb blasts
A reported number of 218 people were arrested for their alleged involvement in the October
2005 bomb blasts that disrupted daily life in 63 districts. Many of those arrested were poor
madrassa teachers and students, who were detained for their alleged involvement in such
incidents or in aiding them. Many were later released after proving their innocence.
Report 2005
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