Hifazat madrasa raided, bombs, explosives seized

Police have seized bottles of picric acid, grenades and explosives during a three-and-a-half-hour raid at the Jamayetul-Ulum-Al Islamia Madrasa, run by Hifazat-e Islam leader Mufti Izaharul Islam, in Chittagong.

An explosion at 11am on Monday rocked a dormitory of that madrasa at Lalkhan Bazar, triggering a frenzy of discussion.

Madrasa authorities including Mufti Izaharul had claimed a laptop had blown up, but hide-and-seek with the injured from the blast had created much suspicion.

Police raided the madrasa in the evening and recovered three live grenades, bomb-making materials and 18 bottles of picric acid.

Explosives were found in various places under the ash after fire-fighters doused the flames sparked by the explosion, Chittagong Metropolitan Police Commissioner Shafiqul Islam told reporters after visiting the site.

“We are certain that this place housed a large stockpile of explosives,” he added.

CMP Assistant Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Md Shahidullah said they suspected the explosion took place when bombs were being made.

The ‘bomb factory’ unearthed in the madrasa of the senior leader of Hifazat, which has taken a stance against the government, stoked concerns about Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s security only days before her Chittagong visit.

“This raises heavy concerns,” Shafiqul Islam said.

Madrasa Principal Mufti Izahar was at the institution when the blast occurred. Prior to the raid, police had also confirmed his presence at the madrasa premises.

But the security forces failed to arrest the Hifazat leader and his son Harun Bin Izahar during the raid, which began at 6:30pm. Instead, they detained five including three teachers of the madrasa.

The detainees were identified as three teachers Tafsir Ahmed, Abdul Mannan, Md Ishaq, madrasa dining superintendent Munir Hossain and student Habibur Rahman.

They were held at the institution and an adjacent area for questioning, ADC Shahidullah told bdnews24.com.

Earlier in the day, police had arrested four more, including a student from Chittagong Polytechnic Institute, with burn injuries from two private hospitals, where they were undergoing treatment.

Students of the Institute were found involved in explosives teams of many militant organisations including banned Islamist outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).

Chittagong-based radical group Hifazat’s Nayeb-e-Amir Izaharul is also the central chief of Nezame Islam Party, which opposed Bangladesh’s independence in 1971. His son Harun is also a leader of Hifazat.

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on Dec 13, 2010 had arrested Mufti Izaharul over charges of involvement in militancy. He was later released on bail.

Police have also filed a case accusing seven people including Izaharul, Harun regarding the explosion and seizure of explosives.

In another disturbing development, RAB arrested four members of the banned militant outfit Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI) from Savar’s Ashulia on Monday. They were held with a large haul of ammunition and explosives on them.

The HUJI was planning to carry out a massive plan of nationwide sabotage in a bid to thwart the ongoing trial of war criminals, RAB officials had said.

Panic from explosion

Residents at Lalkhan Bazar’s Bagghona and Kusumbagh said a loud explosion had occurred in one of the rooms on the first floor of the four-storey madrasa dormitory at 11am, spreading panic in the areas.

Kusumbagh’s Nasima Begum told bdnews24.com, “We closed the main door of our house out of fear after the explosion.”

Fire-fighters had arrived at the scene on getting news from the local as the madrasa authorities did not notify them.

Speaking to bdnews24.com, Fire Service and Civil Defence’s Agrabad Station officer Monayem Billah said: “The room had caught fire after the blast. Madrasa’s people tried to douse it with water and sand. The fire was tamed after we came to the scene.”

A spot visit earlier in the day revealed the room’s window and two ceiling fans had been twisted. The fire burned down everything in the room.

A burnt twisted metal trunk full of marble was also seen on the rear side of the building.

Mufti Izaharul had spoken with the students at a room after the incident. But he did not visit the room where the explosion happened.

He told reporters that he had sought explanation from the students. “They said a laptop was put on charge. There was a desktop computer and a cooking stove in the room. Any of those might have exploded. But I did not see anything.”

Harun Izahar’s room

Several students, preferring anonymity, said the room beside the one where the blast took place belonged to Mufti Izaharul’s son, Harun Bin Izahar.

One of the students told bdnews24.com: “Harun was the one who oversaw this dormitory. Fifty senior students stayed in that building.”

“But many students from different madrasas and other institutions come and stay here. They said they were friends of this madrasa’s students.”

There is another two-storey dormitory in the madrasa housing 250 resident students.

Hide-and-seek

The madrasa authorities, however, played hide-and-seek with the injured from the blast.

Madrasa teachers said the five injured were sent to Chittagong Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) at first. But police later detained four from two private city hospitals where they were undergoing treatment.

A boy student of the madrasa had seen a severed finger on a bush beside the dormitory building where the room had gone up in flames. But he did not say his name out of fear.

Another student, seeking anonymity, said he saw a person running out of that room. His face was burnt and a wrist was nearly severed.

Halishahar Police Station OC Shahjahan Kabir told bdnews24.com: “Two were getting treated at Halishahar General Hospital. They were detained and sent to CMCH.”

One of them, Nurunnabi, was a Chittagong Polytechnic Institute student, police said. The other one was identified as ‘Salman’, 25, who hails from Sunamganj.

They both sustained burns and were kept at ward number 36, said CMCH police outpost Nayek Pankaj Barua.

The other two were detained from a private clinic, Surgiscope, at the city’s Panchlaish, in the afternoon, CMP ADC (north) Md Shahidullah said. But he did not disclose their names.

Police probe

Sub-Inspector (SI) Golam Newaz had led the first police team to the scene after the explosion to gather information.

He said: “The madrasa authorities had claimed the computer’s UPS or the laptop might have exploded.”

Around an hour later, a RAB patrol team arrived at the spot. The detective police’s bomb disposal unit reached there at 1pm. Then they cordoned off the crime scene.

Before that, madrasa teachers, students, locals and journalists had roamed freely in the room.

‘Stockpile of explosives’

After investigating the blast site in the afternoon, police had said the madrasa housed “a large stockpile of explosives”.

Explosives were found in various places under the ash after fire-fighters doused the flames sparked by the explosion, CMP Commissioner Shafiqul Islam told reporters after visiting the scene.

“We are certain that this place housed a large stockpile of explosives. Several handmade grenades were also found. These are very dangerous,” he added.

Police’s bomb disposal unit were working to defuse all the grenades seized from there, Islam said.

DB, CID, fire-fighters and bomb disposal unit had worked after emptying and cordoning off the dormitory building.

Izharul gives police a slip

Police started the raid at the Lalkhan Bazar madrasa at 6:30pm after top CMP officials visited it in the afternoon, hours after the blast rocked the dormitory in the morning.

After a three-and-a-half-hour search, police seized 18 bottles of picric acid and detained five more from the madrasa.

The acid bottles were found in the office of madrasa Principal Mufti Izaharul, police said.

ADC Md Shahidullah said the bottles had ‘Made in India’ and ‘explosives’ written on them..

He had said they recovered three live grenades and bomb-making materials from that dormitory.

Mufti Izaharul was in the madrasa area until 5pm. But he could not be seen after that. Police started the raid at 6:30pm and after that, they said they could not find Izaharul and his son Harun.

Asked whether Izaharul had been helped to flee the scene, Shahidullah said, “Raid will continue and the madrasa will be under watch.”