The police are convinced that the associates of the killers of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had carried out the bomb attack on Awami League lawmaker Fazle Noor Tapash on October 21. "We kept open all avenues but as per our investigation so far, we are convinced that the associates and relatives of the Bangabandhu killers carried out the attack,' said deputy commissioner of detective branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, Monirul Islam.

The complainant of the case, Awami league law maker, Fazle Noor Tapash, also made similar complaint in his case filed with Motijheel police station on October 22. A total of six persons have so far been picked up in a continuing hunt for those suspected to have links to the bomb attack on Tapash. Four of the arrested persons are relatives of the convicts in the Bangabandhu assassination case while the other two are activists of Freedom Party formed by two convicts - Syed Faruqur Rahman and Abdur Rashid.

A day after the bomb attack, police arrested Kamrul Haque Swapan, younger brother of Major (retd) Shariful Haq Dalim, one of the fugitives sentenced to death in the Bangabandhu murder case. On October 24, Khandaker Mehnaz Rashid, the eldest daughter of Lt Col (retd) Khondker Abdur Rashid, another fugitive condemned to death in Bangabandhu murder case, was arrested in this connection. Nazmul Hasan, 34, and Mahbubul Hasan, 30, two sons of Bangabandhu murder convict Lt Col (retd) Mohiuddin Ahmed, were arrested on Tuesday and placed on a five-day police remand the same day.

Besides, two Freedom Party leaders -- Sheikh Safiullah Sofu and Abdur Rahim--were arrested from the city on Sunday and Thursday respectively. Of them, Swapan and Rahim were placed on 8-day remand on Friday, Mehnaz for five days on Saturday, while Sofu was placed on three-day remand on Sunday. The police produced Sofu before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court on Wednesday after the end of his three-day remand and sought a 10-day remand again for further interrogation. But the court fixed Thursday for hearing of the remand prayer.

Meanwhile, the police seized a passport, a computer and some documents in a raid at the residence of Mehnaj on Tuesday night. Monirul Islam, the DC of DB, said that they had got some important information after going through the emails sent by Mehnaj through her computer but declined to reveal anything for the sake of investigation. According to the passport, Mehnaj had visited a number of countries including Pakistan which she visited more than twice last year, said an official close to the investigation.

The DB police officials continued interrogation of the suspects, but none of them was grilled face to face with each other so far, sources said. So far, Mehnaz has disclosed information on her personal life but did not say anything relating to the case. Fazle Noor Tapash, MP, whose parents Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni and Arzoo Moni were killed on August 15, 1975, came under a bomb attack as he was leaving his Motijheel office on the night of October 21. He was unhurt but 13 others, mostly bystanders, were injured in the blast.

-The Independent