Blast at Hefajat Leader’s Madrasa Over 30 ‘grenades’ stored there

A law enforcer picks up marbles, sometimes used as shrapnel in home-made bombs, from the debris of an explosion at a madrasa in Lal Khan Bazar in Chittagong yesterday. Photo: Anurup Kanti Das

At least seven students were injured in a bomb blast at a residential madrasa, run by a Hefazat leader and suspected activist of banned militant outfit Huji, in Chittagong around 11:30am yesterday.

The powerful explosion at the madrasa, run by a Hefajat leader, bent the iron grill of a window. Photo: Anurup Kanti Das

Police in the evening said they had found traces of huge explosives, including at least 30 handmade grenades, earlier stored in the room where the explosion took place.
“We are sure that huge explosives, including a good number of handmade grenades, were stored there,” said Chittagong Metropolitan Police Commissioner Shafiqul Islam after visiting Al Jama’atul Ulum Al Islamia Madrasa in Lalkhan Bazar area of Chittagong.
Police started raiding the madrasa in the afternoon.
They deatined madrasa teachers Md Ishaq, Md Mannan and Tafsir, boarding super Monir and final-year student Habibur Rahman, ADC Md Shahidullah said as the raid ended around 9:45pm.
The hillside madrasa, established by Hefazat Nayebe Ameer Mufti Izharul Islam Chowdhury, housed some 4,000 residential students.
Visiting the madrasa, The Daily Star found that all furniture, books, shelves, dresses, dress stands, beds, and lockers of the room, which is on the second-floor of four-storey student dormitory, were burnt to ashes.
The ceiling fan got twisted and the windows were thoroughly damaged.
Witnesses said they have seen some blown out human fingers at the spot. One of the injured persons lost his wrist in the explosion.
Mufti Izharul Islam Chowdhury, the madrasa principal, in the afternoon claimed the blast occurred from a laptop charger while students were cooking with a stove by keeping the room’s door shut.
But such an explosion from any laptop charger was impossible, says Prof Latiful Haque, head of computer science and engineering of Buet.
A bomb disposal unit of CMP was working at the spot in the evening to see if there were any intact grenades left.
A total of around 100 to 150 shells of handmade bombs were recovered from the madrasa, said ADC Md Shahidullah. Police also found three crude bombs as of 7:50pm.

Mufti Izharul Islam

A carton containing 20 bottles of picric acid was also found in the madrasa, said police.
Sources say the injured included Md Karim, Md Amanullah, Md Jabbar, Md Abdullah, Md Khalek, Nurun Nabi and one unidentified person, all students of fatwa department of the madrasa.
But the madrasa authorities were not cooperating with the police about where the students were taken for treatment.
By evening, two injured, identified as Nurun Nabi and Salman, were picked up while taking treatment at the Chittagong Medical College Hospital, said Assistant Commissioner Abdur Rouf of CMP (Panchlaish zone).
The condition of Nurun Nabi was critical as 90 percent of his body was burnt, while Salman suffered 25-30 percent burns, doctors said.
Around 6:00pm, police detained two others, Md Habib, son of Akbar Hossain, and Jobayer Ahmed, son of Makbul Ahmed, at private clinic Surgiscope Hospital.
The two were taken to the burnt unit of CMCH from Surgiscope Hospital around 7:00pm. Around 50 to 60 percent of the bodies of both the injured were burnt, said CMCH sources.
Identities of the four were yet to be known.

The Al Jamaitul Ulum Islamia Madrasa in Lal Khan Bazar of Chittagong. Photo: Anurup Kanti Das

THE EXPLOSION
Locals said they heard a huge bang around 11:30am from the madrasa.
“Hearing the sound, we rushed to the madrasa but the students barred us from entering,” said Md Russel, a MES College student living in the area.
He added that he saw madrasa students were taking several injured persons to hospitals. They were not allowing any outsider to help them.
Madrasa teacher Moulana Abu Saleh said hearing the bang, students and teachers rushed to extinguish the fire by spraying silt and water.
Five students of fatwa department used to stay in the room, he said.
Soon, firefighters from Agrabad fire station rushed to the spot. Fire official Md Yahia said it was a big explosion.

A policeman searching the hostel of the madrasa after a bomb exploded yesterday. Photo: Anurup Kanti Das

Mufti Izhar, also president of Nezam-e-Islam Party and chairman of an Islami Oikya Jote (IOJ) faction, told The Daily Star in the evening that he did not know how many students were injured in the incident.
The 70-year-old was detained by the Rab from the Madrasa on December 16, 2010 for his alleged link with banned militant outfit Harkatul Jihad al Islam (Huji).
He was shown arrested later for his alleged involvement in the abduction of physician Azizur Rahman in the capital’s Mirpur area in September 2003.
Azizur had protested against militant activities during his stay in Khulna.
Huji chief Mufti Abdul Hannan and several others were also shown arrested in the abduction case, filed by wife of Azizur.
Names of several militant groups and the IOJ came up during interrogation of the Huji leaders. Izharul got bail on April 5 in 2011.
Mufti Izharul’s younger son Musa Bin Izhar is the assistant general secretary of Hefazat-e Islam, a Qawmi madrasa-based Islamist organisation.
Harun Izhar, another son of Mufti Izhar is the Publicity Secretary of Hefajat.
In November 2010, detective Branch of police arrested Harun Izhar and two of his associates for their alleged link to another militant outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
Harun and his cohorts were allegedly planning to attack the US embassy in Dhaka and other establishments, said DB officials. He is now on bail.