Ashkona suicide attack: Five Pirojpur residents questioned and released

RAB have released five Pirojpur residents taken into questioning over the attack on the RAB barracks in Dhaka’s Ashkona.

The five had been taken into custody on Saturday and were released on Sunday afternoon after their identities were confirmed, said a RAB-8 official.

On Friday a man of approximately 25 years of age conducted a suicide attack at a RAB camp in Ashkona.

The next day a woman, later identified as Amirun Begum from Bhandaria Upazila’ Chingurhia village, went to RAB and claimed the attacker was her son.

According to the information they received RAB then detained Amirun’s husband Nurul Islam Howladar, 65, their two sons Shahidul Islam Howladar, 40, and Rafiqul Islam, 30, for questioning. RAB also detained the aunt, Lucky Begum, and uncle, Musa Khan, of a missing local boy named ‘Sumon’ for questioning.

Upon questioning the detainees it was found that the attacker was not related to them, a Rab-8 deputy captain who wishes to remain anonymous told bdnews24.com.

Niru Begum, the second wife of Nurul Islam, told bdnews24.com that Amirun Begum had been her husband’s first wife and that the two had had three children - Shahidul, Rafiqul and Farooq Hossain. Farooq had died a few years ago in a Chittagong road accident.

“Amirun has been mentally unstable since and often embraces strangers, believing them to be her son,” she said.

Amirun had gone missing from home ten to twelve days earlier, said Niru Begum.

Locals say 18-year old ‘Sumon’, the son of Chingurhia resident Nurul Islam Khan, has been missing for an extended period. RAB had detained Sumon’s aunt and uncle for questioning over the possibility that his disappearance was tied to militancy.