Huge cache of arms recovered

Police yesterday claimed to have recovered a huge cache of firearms and ammunition, including two rocket launchers and 61 Chinese submachine guns (SMGs), from Narayanganj's Rupganj.

Although police did not name the group who belonged to those arms, they claimed to have found similarities with the arms and bags recovered from Diabari in the capital's Uttara on June 18 last year. 

Monirul Islam, chief of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit, said they were suspecting that the group who had been behind keeping arms in Diabari was responsible for the Rupganj incident.

Asked whether there was any militant group involved in the Rupganj incident, he said they had recovered arms from different militant hideouts, but there were no similarities with the recovered arms of Rupganj. They would also look into the matter, said Monirul while speaking to reporters on the spot.

Police first recovered an SMG from the house of alleged drug dealer Sharif Mia in Bagla area of Rupganj on Tuesday, but Sharif, an accused of three drug cases, was not at home at that time.

"We later arrested him through mobile phone tracking from Chashara area on Wednesday and started a drive with him to recover other arms,” Faruk Hossain, additional superintendent of Narayanganj police, told The Daily Star. 

He said based on Sharif's information, they recovered two SMGs from a sand field in Sector-3 of Rupganj around 2:00am early yesterday.

Sharif then gave police further information about arms kept in a canal of Sector-5 in Purbachal Residential Area, he added. 

"You will lose your life, if anyone knows about these arms,” Sharif's accomplices warned him while keeping the arms one and a half months ago, said a high official of Narayanganj police, requesting anonymity.

While searching near Kanchan bridge in Purbachal Residential Area, police found a nylon rope tied to a tree along the canal and the other part of the rope was kept in canal water. Pulling off the rope, police got a travel bag tied to it and found some arms inside the bag, said the police official.

Police then informed fire service divers of the matter. They searched the canal around 7:00am and found two walkie-talkies, two rocket launchers, 58 Chinese SMGs, five magazines of 7.62 pistol, 58 anti-tank propellants, 42 blank nose heads, 44 magazines of SMG and huge bomb-making materials and bullets. 

While visiting the spot, Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidul Hoque said they already arrested one who gave police information about the arms, and they were hopeful of getting clue to the arms syndicate soon.

"Some criminal gangs might have brought this huge cache of arms as part of local and foreign conspiracy for carrying out massive subversive activities. But we are hopeful of unearthing mystery behind it soon,” he said.

Police Headquarters (PHQ) yesterday formed a 12-member probe body, led by Dhaka Range Deputy Inspector General Shafiqul Islam, to investigate the incident, and the body was asked to submit its report within 10 working days, according to a statement issued by PHQ.

CTTC bomb disposal unit and crime scene unit of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) went to the spot yesterday noon, and the bomb disposal unit diffused explosives.

Wishing not to be named, an official of bomb disposal unit told this newspaper that the bombs recovered from the canal were made in 80s and those were inactive.

Last year, police recovered 97 foreign pistols, including two 9mm pistols, about 1,060 bullets, 452 magazines and 10 bayonets from Diabari canal. No-one was arrested yet in this connection. 

After the incident, two general diaries were filed with Turag Police Station and CTTC was now investigating the incident.

Police were yet to file any case in this connection as the arms were recovered in abandon condition.

Talking to reporters, Sharif's wife Fahima Begum said she got married with Sharif in 2006, when Sharif returned home from Dubai. After eight months of their marriage, Sharif again went to Dubai and came back two years later.

Returning home, Sharif started working as a source of Rapid Action Battalion-11 and left the job on health ground after two years, said Fahima. 

She added that her husband got involved in drug trading after incurring a loss in his land business.

There was no involvement of Sharif in keeping any arms. Someone might have done it over enmity with her husband, Fahima claimed.