A witness to destruction of evidence, Shams lost army job months after Aug 21 grenade attack

Shamsuddin Ahmed Shams, who investigated the Aug 21, 2004 attack site as the head of the army’s bomb disposal, unit, lost his job after he said he wanted to keep unexploded grenades as evidence.

After the verdict over the attack was delivered on Wednesday, the former army officer spoke to bdnews24.com about what he saw on Bangabandhu Avenue in Dhaka on that day and how he was retired.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the then opposition leader, narrowly escaped death in the attack believed to be an assassination attempt on her.

The grenades began exploding, accompanied by gunfire, as Hasina, after wrapping up her address, was about to step off a truck, which was used as a dais at the anti-terrorism rally.

Over a dozen grenades were detonated, killing 24 and injuring hundreds of others.

As the Awami League supporters rushed back to the scene to help the injured, police started firing tear gas and charging baton.

The law enforcers there allegedly destroyed evidence instead of collecting those.

Investigator Abdul Kahar Akand of the police’s Criminal Investigation Department also said the destruction of evidence made his job tough.

Shams, an army captain at the time, arrived at the scene with his team around 10:15pm, hours after the attack.

“We were shown two grenades from a long distance, but there were no arrangements to preserve evidence. Only a police constable was there, but no senior officer,” he said.

The two Arges grenades, each carrying 4,000 splinters, were very powerful, according to Shams.

“Even a single splinter could kill a person if it hit him or her from a particular distance,” he said.

The two grenades were disposed of through controlled explosion the same night, the former army officer said.

He found two more grenades the next day and took those back to the cantonment, Shams said. The intelligence officials also saw the grenades at the time, he said.

He wanted to preserve the grenades as evidence, but was discouraged. The two grenades were destroyed later, Shams said.

“I didn't get it that someone didn’t want the grenades preserved…They also wanted me to say that it would not be right to preserve the evidence,” he said.

Shams was transferred to Natore within a week of the grenade attack and put under increased surveillance. He was sent to premature retirement in January the next year.  

“My becoming a major was almost certain at the time, but that did not happen,” he said.

A Dhaka tribunal has sentenced the then state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar and 18 others to death while acting BNP chief Tarique Rahman is among 19 sentenced to life in prison for their roles in the 2004 attack.

Eleven others have been awarded different prison terms. They include ATM Amin Ahmed and Saiful Islam Joarder, former officials of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence or DGFI.

Former police chiefs Khuda Baksh Chowdhury, Ashraful Huda, and Shahudul Haque have also been jailed.

Shams, who was a witness in the Aug 21 grenade attack case, hailed the verdict.

“From my experience, I think the truth has been revealed,” he said.