Mufti Izharul, son charged with murder

The dormitory room of Al Jamiatul Ulum Al Islamia Madrasa in Lalkhan Bazar of Chittagong city where a blast on October 7 last year killed three people. The institution is run by Hefajat-e Islam Nayebe Ameer Mufti Izharul Islam, now absconding. File Photo

Mufti Izharul Islam

Police yesterday charged five people, including Hefajat-e-Islam Nayeb-e-Ameer Mufti Izharul Islam Chowdhury and his son Harun Bin Izhar, with the killing of three people by exploding bombs at a Chittagong city madrasa last October.
It was primarily proved that the accused were involved in collecting bomb-making substances, making explosives by supplying these substances, and killing the people by carrying out the blast, according to the charge sheet.
Police prepared the charge sheet after running an investigation by collecting evidence from the scene, analysing the autopsy reports of the deceased, and interrogating 34 witnesses including police personnel, experts, and general people.
On October 7 last year, a powerful explosion occurred in a room of a student dormitory of Al Jamiatul Ulum Al Islamia Madrasa in Lalkhan Bazar, killing three students. Mufti Izhar, who went into hiding after the blast, ran the institution and was its principal.

Harun Bin Izhar Harun Bin Izhar

Harun Bin IzharDuring an inspection at the scene, police recovered four handmade grenades and a big amount of bomb-making materials like iron caps, cylinders, electric cables and 18 bottles of picric acid, which is used in making high-power explosives like grenades.
Three days later, on October 10, Golam Newaz, sub-inspector of Khulshi Police Station, filed a murder case with the police station against seven people. Police later dropped two names from the charge sheet as one died and another's whereabouts is unknown.
SI Md Shah Alam, the investigation officer, submitted the five-page charge sheet to the general record office of the prosecution section at Chittagong court building, said Rezaul Masud, additional deputy commissioner (prosecution) of Chittagong Metropolitan Police. The charge sheet will be placed before a court later, he added.
The three other accused are Md Zunaid, 30, guard; Md Ishaque, 33, teacher; and Habibur Rahman, 22, student, of the madrasa. Police arrested Harun and Zunaid on October 9, 2013, and Ishaque and Habibur immediately after the explosion.
Following the blast, Mufti Izhar had claimed that it occurred from a laptop charger while his son Harun told the media that it happened from an instant power supply (IPS) device.
In connection with the incident, two other cases--one under the explosives act and the other under the acid control act--were also filed. The trial of the first one is underway while the charge sheet was filed in the second case.