Staff Reporter
A new FBI team arrived in Dhaka Tuesday night to help probe the February 25-26 BDR mutiny yesterday and visited Peelkhana, the headquarters of the border guards.
The seven-member team of US Federal Bureau of Investigation visited the places of occurrence of massacre for four hours.
US Ambassador to Bangladesh James F Moriarty yesterday told reporters that the FBI team arrived in Dhaka Tuesday night. They will help probe the Peelkhana incident, he said.
A two-member advance team of the FBI earlier visited Bangladesh following a request of the Bangladeshi government to assist the investigation of the BDR mutiny.
The FBI team is likely to meet today with Minister for Commerce and the coordinator of the mutiny probe Lt Col (Retd) Faruq Khan at his office.
The Commerce Minister yesterday told reporters that the government requested the FBI team to find out as to whether there was any international linkage to the BDR mutiny.
“The government has requested the FBI to investigate whether there was any international connection with the BDR mutiny,” he said while talking to reporters after a meeting with the Sri Lankan High Commissioner.
“Bangladesh has many things to feel proud of. So, we want to see whether there was any international link to the carnage,” he said.
The Minister said the government is not hiding anything and everything is being done transparently. “We will disclose everything by making the investigation report public,” he added.
The official probe body is scheduled to submit its inquiry report today as per the extended timeframe.
Col Khan observed that the carnage was staged to make the country weak, economically and even, to destroy the mental strength of the army.
Asked whether they found any involvement of anti-liberation forces, he said time has not come yet to make comment on probe and said he would speak on it soon.
The Commerce Minister made a claim of the banned militant outfit JMB’s involvement in the carnage within the first few days of investigation, which was sharply criticised by different quarters.
A team of the Scotland Yard men the United Kingdom also came to Bangladesh to help probe the BDR carnage.
Meanwhile, Director General of BDR General Moinul Islam said that he had talks with the FBI team at Peelkhana. They (FBI team) would help the CID to probe the BDR mutiny.
Courtesy of The New Nation
