What the hell??? has bangladesh gne mad?

Intelligence nullifies BDR chief’s claim on Bangla blasts

Anjan Chakraborty/SNS
KOLKATA, Oct. 1. — Though the director-general of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), Maj. Gen. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, yesterday alleged that Indians were involved in the 17 August serial bomb blasts in Bangladesh, his own government seems to feel otherwise.
According to Intelligence sources, a week after the serial bomb blasts hit 63 towns and cities of Bangladesh, Dhaka requested New Delhi to hunt down Sheikh Abdur Rahman, the alleged mastermind of the serial bombings, and the leader of the banned Islamic militant group, Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen of Bangladesh (JMB). Dhaka has also sought the help of Interpol in this regard. JMB had claimed responsibility for the 17 August bombings and their leaflets were also found at most of the blast sites.
Indian Intelligence agencies thereafter begun a manhunt for Rahman, who is believed to have slipped into West Bengal with key lieutenants, including his bodyguards, to evade the police dragnet in his country. Along with Rahman, IB officials were also asked to be on the look out for one Siddiqul Islam alias Azizur Rahman alias Bangla Bhai, who is the commander of Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh’s anti-extremist operation.
Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) is an Islamic radical organisation, based in Bangladesh and banned in 2004 by the ruling Bangladeshi Nationalist Party led government. JMJB is believed to have assisted JMB in the serial bombings of 17 August.
“The search operation to nab both Rehman and Islam is already underway, though it is a difficult job as these extremists have sympathisers in West Bengal and they are always on the move. Under extra surveillance were the West Bengal madrasas and transit points along the India-Bangladesh border. Several Kolkata hotels where Bangladeshis usually stay when they come here for shopping or for medical treatment are being closely watched as well,” said an Intelligence official.
The timing of the BDR chief’s statement has therefore come as a major surprise for the Indian Intelligence agencies. “At one point of time, Dhaka says that Bangladeshi militants, responsible for the 17 August serial bombings are in India and we should hunt them down and the next thing we know is the BDR chief accusing Indians of masterminding the bomb blasts in Bangladesh,” said the official.
Dhaka goes for damage control
KOLKATA, Oct. 1. — Dhaka did not find any Indian connivance so far, nor it has blamed New Delhi for instigating the serial blasts that had rocked Bangladesh on August 17, Bangladeshi officials told The Statesman today.
Apparently in a damage control exercise after the diplomatic faux pas committed by the BDR DG, Maj. Gen. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, in New Delhi yesterday, Bangladesh diplomats called it an “unfortunate misunderstanding” and hoped it would not derail the ongoing mutual efforts to improve bilateral relations between countries before Saarc Summit in November.
Maj. Gen. Chowdhury who flew down to the city before leaving for home this evening also declined to comment on the controversy, apparently under the instructions from Dhaka.
“Protocol demands that I will speak on the bilateral issues here only in the presence of my host, the BSF DG. I do not want to be dragged into any controversy,” he said. SNS