Police sought 10 days to question the accused, saying he had provided information about several others allegedly involved in the explosion and that further interrogation was needed to identify and arrest them.
Representational Image. Photo: Collected
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Representational Image. Photo: Collected
A court has placed an accused arrested over a crude bomb explosion in front of Rupnagar Police Station in the capital on a four-day remand.
The accused, Mohammad Ashraful Islam, is a Pathao driver.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Manzurul Islam passed the order today (11 November), following an application by the investigation officer.
Earlier, Sub-Inspector (SI) Md Al Mamun of Rupnagar Police Station, also the investigation officer in the case, produced Ashraful before the court and sought a 10-day remand for questioning.
SI Abu Bakar Siddique of the prosecution department confirmed the matter.
According to the remand application, a crude bomb exploded in front of Nusaiba General Store on Arambagh Main Road, Block D, Road 4, Section 7 West, under Rupnagar Police Station, around 1:30am on 9 November.
Police were patrolling near the scene at the time. After the explosion, officers tried to catch those involved, but several people fled. Ashraful was arrested around 1:40am while attempting to escape, the application said.
Police seized fragments of four green-coloured tobacco tins, three pieces of white adhesive tape and nine pieces of barbed wire from the scene.
Police claimed that during preliminary questioning, Ashraful admitted to his involvement in the incident and provided the names and addresses of several others who had fled.
The application said he needed to be questioned extensively to uncover the motive behind the explosion, identify and arrest the other suspects, and recover evidence related to the incident.
Investigators also sought information on whether anyone else was involved with Ashraful in explosions reported at different locations across the capital.
During earlier police questioning, Ashraful claimed that a man named Jasim had threatened and coerced him into carrying out the explosion.
Ashraful, who works as a Pathao driver, said he had been taking his ailing mother to and from the National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital for treatment. After parking his motorcycle at a garage at night, Jasim called him and offered him a task, before instructing him to throw the crude bomb.
He claimed he agreed out of fear, considering his mother’s illness and his family’s safety.
According to Ashraful, he took an autorickshaw from in front of Pallabi Vidyaniketan to Rupnagar Police Station and threw the crude bomb there. He also claimed that the explosion injured his leg. He was later injured in a fall while trying to flee and received treatment at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital.
Regarding Jasim, Ashraful claimed that he lived in Mirpur’s Section 7 and had been seen at various Awami League programmes, meetings and rallies.
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