WIKILEAKS EXPOSÉ: Bangladesh'Harris Chy tied to Kibria killing'

Former principal secretary at PMO Kamaluddin Siddiqui suspected that Harris Chowdhury had ties with the assassination of Shah A M S Kibria.

Dhaka, Sep 5 (bdnews24.com)— The former principal secretary at the prime minister's office during Khaleda Zia's last term had hinted that BNP had a hand in the assassination of former Awami League finance minister Shah A M S Kibria, according to a leaked US embassy cable.

Kamaluddin Siddiqui pointed his finger at the then political secretary at PMO Harris Chowdhury for having ties with the local BNP leaders charged with the crime, says a Mar 14, 2005 cable titled "PMO PRINCIPAL SECRETARY SPEAKS CANDIDLY" sent by the then US ambassador to Dhaka, Harry K Thomas to Washington.

The cable is one of the 150,000 uncensored wires released by whistleblower WikiLeaks on Aug 30.

Retorting to the ambassador's reiteration of bringing the killers to justice and reference to media speculation regarding the tie, Siddiqui asked rhetorically if the ambassador wanted him to name the individual who everybody knows, he said, comes from Sylhet and is a "problem'.

He told the ambassador that the pressure from the US government and World Bank had 'finally convinced' the then prime minister Khaleda Zia that the 'protection' of Rajshahi area BNP parliamentarians 'needs to be brushed aside'.

She had also realised that the members of Islamist outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) have to be arrested to save Bangladesh's international reputation, the top bureaucrat said in the meeting.

According to the cable, he added, "That's the problem with this BNP government. It only acts under pressure, so it doesn't get the credit it deserves for doing what it should have done months ago."

Siddiqui also shared the ambassador's view that the arrest of vigilante group leader Siddiqur Rahman alias "Bangla Bhai" was also critical.

"They know where these people are," the cable quoted the official as saying.

Former finance minister and Awami League leader Kibria and four others were killed in a grenade attack in Habiganj on Jan 27, 2005. More than 70 people were also injured in the deadly explosion.

Abdul Majid Khan, then the general secretary of Awami League's district unit and currently an MP, filed two cases over the incident.

On Mar 10, 2005, then senior ASP of CID Munshi Atiqur Rahman submitted a charge sheet naming 10 people.

The High Court ordered further investigation into the murder case when the caretaker government was in office and put police's Criminal Investigation Department senior assistant superintendent of police Rafiqul Islam on the cae.

On June 20 this year, the CID said that they found evidence that former BNP state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar, outlawed Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) chief Mufti Hannan and 12 others were involved in the murder and pressed charges against them.

However, the supplementary charge sheet was rejected by Kibria's family and his wife Asma Kibria filed an objection plea on June 28.

Quoting the statements of witnesses including Maj Gen Sadek Hassan Rumi and arrestees like Babar, the objection appeal said though HuJI carried out the killing with the help of former ministers and leaders of the BNP-led alliance, the names of those influential were missing in the charge-sheet.

BOEING OR AIRBUS, BRIBES SHALL TELL

The once all-powerful official also told the ambassador during their meeting that Boeing officials did not need to meet him as he supports Biman Bangladesh Airlines' plan to purchase Boeing aircraft.

He added that one of the factors delaying the decision was the then state minister for civil aviation Mir Mohammaed Nassirudin's 'desire for a bribe'.

Siddiqui also pledged to the ambassador that he will 'energetically press after tomorrow's cabinet meeting the reluctant civil aviation minister on the political and commercial benefits of buying Boeing.'

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