No transit without Teesta: Khaleda

LALMONIR HAT

Lalmonirhat, Feb 27 BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia has said that her party will oppose giving transit facility to India if it does not give the Teesta river water to Bangladesh.

"The river Teesta has dried out. This [Awami League] government has failed to bring a drop of water from India," she told a rally at the local Collectorate Ground in Lalmonirhat on Monday.

"Transit and corridor facility will be stopped if they (India) don't share the water of Teesta. Friendship can't be one-sided," she added.

Speaking on the occasion, the BNP chairperson also reiterated her party's stand that they would not take part in the next election without a caretaker government.

"You (government) still have time…either meet the demand of [election under] non-partisan and impartial government or you'll have to leave amidst protests. So, make a choice."

She started her 45-minute speech around 4:12pm.

This was the last publicity rally of Khaleda Zia before the opposition's Mar 12 'grand rally' at Dhaka.

In the 45-minute address, the opposition leader touched upon a number of issues, including the current state of the country, corruption, Sagar-Runi killing, capital market, border killings and 'submissive' foreign policies, and the recent India visit of the home minister.

JOURNALIST COUPLE KILLING

Blaming the government for the sensational murder that rocked the media, Khaleda claimed, "Sagar-Runi had many secret information about the corruption in the government. If published, those information would have reached even abroad. So they were killed ruthlessly."

She went on to say, "So the killers only took their laptop, mobile handsets and computers. There were other things also at their places."

"The killers of Sagar and Runi have been sent abroad, which is why the government is not arresting the killers and is dillydallying."

Claiming that around 12,000 opposition activists and 15 journalists have been killed during this government's tenure, Khaleda said, "Now the prime minister is saying that providing security to people in their bedrooms is not the government's responsibility (sic)."

She also questioned the government's actions with regard to the murders: "What is the mystery in this murder? Why are the killers not being arrested? The home minister proudly said they would be caught (in 48 hours)."

Alleging that the killers are not being arrested deliberately, Khaleda claimed, "The killers were caught in reality. Then they were sent abroad. That is why the government is dillydallying."

Private television channel Maasranga's news editor Sagar Sarowar and ATN Bangla senior reporter Meherun Runi were killed at their residence at Dhaka's Rajabazar in the early hours of Jan 11.

Khaleda left for Dhaka around 7pm from the circuit house.

Attempts on to nab coup bid plotters: govt

DHAKA NEWS


Dhaka, Feb 27 The government and law enforcing agencies are working relentlessly to arrest the absconders of the failed coup attempt, says a minister.

Planning minister A K Khandakar, also minister in charge of the Armed Forces Division, said this in reply to a question of Awami League lawmaker Begum Ahmed Nazneen Sultana in parliament on Monday.

The minister said there are primary indications that a religious fundamentalist organisation was involved in the heinous act.

Involvement of others is also being examined, he said adding, "A non-resident Bangladeshi civilian named Ishraq Ahmed was also involved."

"Trial of those involved in the failed coup will start as soon as the investigation is completed," he said adding, "A court of inquiry was set up on Dec 28 to establish the motive and the identity of those responsible of the coup bid."

Filmmaker Alamgir Kumkum dead

DHAKA NEWS

Dhaka, Feb 27 Noted filmmaker and the founding-president of Bangabandhu Sangskritik Jote, Alamgir Kumkum, died on Monday. He was 66.

Filmmaker Shahedur Rahman Mukul  that Kumkum died at the city's Apollo Hospital.

He had been suffering from diabetics and kidney-related problems.

Shahedur said the body is at the late filmmaker's home at Rampura in the capital.

After the first namaaz-e-janaza in the area, the body will be taken to Bangladesh Television building and then to the Film Development Corporation, he said.

Shahedur said there are plans to lay Alamgir to rest at the Martyrs' Intellectual Memorial at Mirpur.

Alamgir Kumkum directed more than 50 films. Among the renowned ones are 'Dheere Bohe Meghna', 'Amar Janmabhumi', 'Sonar Cheyeo Daami', 'Jibon Chabi', 'Kabin', 'Rajbondi', and 'Amarsangi'.

He was a former cultural secretary of the Awami League central committee and was involved with Chhatra League, the party's student wing. Besides being a filmmaker, he also played a role in different cultural movements.

Section 144 in Sarail as villagers, BGB clash

BRAHMAN BARIA 

Brahmanbaria, Feb 27 A clash between villagers and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) members left at least 30 people injured at Sarail upazila in Brahmanbaria on Monday, leading the local authorities to ban all sorts of public gathering.

The clash over ownership of a piece of land took place around 9:30am when villagers tore down a tent set up on the disputed land at Kalikachchha Bazar by members of BGB-12 headquarters on Sunday night, Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) A S M Shahedul Islam Say

The authorities imposed Section 144, banning public assembly, to control the situation, the UNO said.

Witnesses said freedom fighter Abdul Hamid had a longstanding dispute with BGB-12 over the ownership of the 16-decimal land adjacent to the paramilitary force's local headquarters. A court issued status quo on the matter when a case had been filed.

Sarail Police Station officer-in-charge (OC) Gias Uddin told bdnews24.com that the BGB set up tent on the land to take control of it.

Witnesses said nearly 500 villagers pulled down the tent in the morning and clashed with the BGB personnel there. They hurled brickbats and the BGB members charged baton, leaving at least 30 injured, the OC said.

Hamid, 65, said the dispute had originated during his grandfather's time. "The villagers broke the tent as it was set up defying the court's status quo," he added.

Bengali daily Prothom Alo's local correspondent Badar Uddin Badu said daily Manabjamin's correspondent Mahbub Khan Babul, Banglabazar's Masud Rana and Ittefaq's Julkarnaine were assaulted by BGB personnel.

Badu also said the members of the paramilitary force confined three journalists until noon.

BGB-12 commander Lt Col Mustafizur Rahman could not be reached for comment.

Prosecution starts replying in SQC case

DHAKA NEWS

Dhaka, Feb 27 The war crimes tribunal on Monday finally began hearing the prosecution's reply after lengthy submissions of BNP MP Salauddin Quader Chowdhury's counsels moving several petitions, including one for discharge and another for bail.

The International Crimes Tribunal, set up on Mar 25, 2010 to try crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War, began hearing the prosecution's reply shortly before day's proceedings came to an end and will resume on Tuesday.

Zead-Al-Malum had expressed his exasperation at the war crimes tribunal's indulgence towards Salauddin Quader's chief counsel just as the court was about to go into lunch recess.

The outspoken BNP policymaker's lawyer Ahsanul Haq had managed to regale the International Crimes Tribunal, with his submissions interspersed with humorous anecdotes for almost an hour before lunch and requested them that he be allowed to finish the bail petition after recess.

The judges duly consented. Upon the prosecutor's objection, saying that he could not quite understand what has happening as the defence counsels were lumbering on without moving the petitions, tribunal chairman Justice Nizamul Huq only said, "But you should keep in mind that we are also hearing him."

Ahsanul Haq resumed after lunch. He reiterated a number of points that he had made earlier both for the petition seeking his client's discharge and another one for his bail.

He said that it was incumbent upon the investigation when they took Salauddin Quader to the safe house to ask about his whereabouts during the Liberation War.

When Justice Huq asked what it was the senior counsel wanted to say, Ahsanul Haq said, "I am saying it was a bad investigation."

Moving back and forth between the discharge petition and the bail petition, Ahsanul Haq said regarding the formal charge that no-one had come forward with a formal charge or a complaint. He said that charges did not have any person who got the "ball to roll".

Haq also brought to the court's notice that his client had secured bail in all other cases pending against him and so his client would be able to go free if he got bail in this case.

The senior counsel reiterated some of the points he had made before that there were not obstacles to enlarging the petitioner on bail because he would not abscond, nor would he tamper the evidence because formal charges have already been brought against.

Haq pointed out that the charges did not have any police verifications of the deaths allegedly due to his client's doings.

Haq also said on behalf of his client that Salauddin Quader had never quite toed a particular line within politics except perhaps being a 'pro-Islamic' politician.

"But they have mixed up the charges against my father with those against me," he continued on Chowdhury's behalf and added that he had heard of property being handed down hereditarily but this was the first time that he was seeing offences being inherited.

Haq made the point that Goods Hill, where Salauddin Quader's family lived, must have been under the control of Fazlul Quader Chowdhury, Salauddin's father, was the speaker of Pakistan parliament and the acting president. "Salauddin Quader was only 21 at that time."

The counsel said if Goods Hill had to be under anyone's control it would have to be under Chowdhury senior. He said referring to a document from Punjab University that Salauddin Quader was attending university during that time. "And that certificate has been verified by the Bangladeshi High Commission in Pakistan besides other competent authorities."

Ahsanul Haq said that the charges had been filed 37 years after the law had been put in force and also pointed to the fact the prosecution had not provided any explanation about why it took so long to file the complaints against his client.

He said the principal perpetrators where 195 officers of the Pakistani defence forces, while his client could be an abettor at most. He then proceeded to ask why the abettor, if at all that, was being charged before the principal offenders.

This was followed by the BNP politician's other counsel Fakhrul Islam moving another petition praying that the proceedings be conducted following international standards.

That Justice Nizamul Huq had kept in mind prosecutor Malum's objections from before lunch was clear when he asked the defence counsel how long it would take.

Huq said the court would give him ten minutes when the Fakhrul Islam said he only needed five.

However, the petition did not take even that long because Justice Huq told the counsel that a similar petition had been disposed of and this one would be rejected with a single sentence regardless of the submissions.

"But my client did not have a lawyer at that time and there weren't such substantive material at that time," said Fakhrul Islam.

"Why don't you then file a review petition and bring those in and we can hear you at length? Because you want an order on this, it will be a one liner I tell you."

The counsel said that is what he wanted and brought the matter to an end.

Salauddin Quader, a six-time MP, was then given an opportunity to address court briefly after his counsels had finished their submissions.

The outspoken Chittagong MP with considerable legal knowledge besides his legal training used the opportunity to offer an unqualified apology to the court and proceeded to answer some of the queries that the judges had made when Fakhrul Islam was moving the discharge petition.

"I owe you an apology," Salauddin Quader began. He said he was not quite familiar with all the customs of the court. "So I might have infringed and transgressed on a on a few occasions."

He also apologised for speaking in a loud voice in the court which had prompted the tribunal chair to even mention that in an order. He said, "I have been endowed with a loud voice. And at times it might have irritated you (addressing Justice Huq)."

Salauddin Quader said it had become a habit to shout in parliament trying to get the attention of the speaker and that might have 'spilled over' into the court.

The BNP politician then proceeded to answer one query that the tribunal had made asking what the difference was between the Collaborators' Act of 1972 and the International Crimes (Tribunal) Act of 1973.

Salauddin Quader said one had been tailor made to try combatants. The 1973 act, he said, was for officers in the field of battle and had nothing to do with civilians while the collaborators act was the enacted just to try the civilians who had collaborated with the Pakistani Army against Bangladesh.

He also went on to answer another query of the court saying that one of the members of the tribunal, Justice ATM Fazle Kabir, had been a member of the bench that in fact declared the Fifth Amendment illegal. He referred to that instance where a bench had declared a prevailing law invalid.

Saying that he was inspired by the same Justice Kabir's presence in the tribunal, Salauddin Quader suggested that this tribunal could also look at the prevailing law in the same manner.

Justice Fazle Kabir then spoke at length about the context of the case and said that the bench actually had the jurisdiction of making such a decision.

Prosecutor Zead-Al-Malum began his arguments reluctantly and only upon Justice Huq's insistence. He said that the prosecution would reply to each and every one of the 47 points that the defence counsels had mentioned during their arguments.

Malum did not get very far before the tribunal chief adjourned the court until Tuesday.

The prosecution submitted formal charges against Salauddin Quader on Nov 14, 2011 and the tribunal took them into cognisance three days later.

The Chittagong MP was shown arrested for war crimes charges on Dec 20, 2010 five days after his arrest.

The investigating agency submitted a 119-page report with around 8,000-page data report to the chief prosecutor on Oct 3 in a bid to prove allegations of war crimes during the 1971 Liberation War.

Besides Jamaat executive council member Delwar Hossain Sayedee whose case is the most advanced, Jamaat chief Matiur Rahman Nizami, secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed and assistant secretaries general Mohammad Kamaruzzaman and Abdul Quader Molla, and Bangladesh Nationalist Party's standing committee member and MP Salauddin Quader Chowdhury have been detained on war crimes charges.

The tribunal has also sent Jamaat-e-Islami's former chief Ghulam Azam to jail on Jan 11. The second part of his formal charge hearing has been fixed on Feb 27.

Indictment hearings of Jamaat secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed and the party's assistant secretary-general Mohammad Kamaruzzaman are set to begin later this month on Feb 23 and Feb 29 respectively.

The tribunal granted conditional bail to former BNP lawmaker and minister Abdul Alim on March 31 last year. The bail was extended further on Jan 16, ordering him to be present in the court on Mar 15 when the prosecution has been directed to submit formal charges against the BNP leader.

BNP has sided with 'war criminals': PM

DHAKA NEWS

Dhaka, Feb 26 Prime minister Sheikh Hasina has once again said BNP was trying to hinder the war crimes trial and added that her government would try the crimes against humanity perpetrated in the 1971.

"BNP has sided with the war criminals and with those who committed crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War. BNP never wants the people of Bangladesh to stand upright," she said on Sunday.

Addressing an opinion-exchange programme with Awami League's Comilla unit leaders at her official residence Ganabhaban, Hasina urged all the pro-liberation forces to get united for the cause for completing the war crimes trials.

She apparently made the remark in the reply to the opposition leader Khaleda Zia's demand to release the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami leaders arrested for their alleged involvement in war crimes.

BNP says it is in favour of the trial, but maintains that the trial will have to be fair.

The prime minister, also president of the ruling Awami League, said the war crimes trial is maintaining the international standards.

"The nation has to be freed of the stigma by completing the trial," she said.

Hasina slammed late president and founder of BNP Ziaur Rahman for letting the war criminals walk free.

She said Father of the Nation Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had formed a special trial tribunal to try the war criminals after the war for independence against Pakistan.

"But when Ziaur Rahman came to power, he annulled several acts in order to free them (the war criminals)," she added.

She also said BNP chief Khaleda Zia, wife of Ziaur Rahman, is treading the path her husband had followed. "She (Khaleda) is making moves to save the war criminals," the prime minister reiterated.

"It is a matter of great shame for the whole nation that an FBI (US agency Federal Bureau of Investigation) agent testified against the BNP chairperson's son Tarique Rahman in a money laundering case in a Bangladeshi court," she said.

Hasina also questioned the whereabouts of the opposition chief during the Feb 25-26 carnage in 2009 in the Peelkhana headquarters of the then Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), now Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).

"The carnage started around 9.30am. She (Khaleda) went out of her cantonment house on the day of mutiny around 7.30am, contrary to her habit, and disappeared for three days."

"Why did she run away? Did she know what was going to happen?" Hasina asked.

She said leaders of all political parties, excluding those of BNP and its key ally Jamaat-e-Islami, went to the scene after the mutiny took place.

Hasina said her government had skilfully handled the BDR rebellion case happening three years back.

She also criticised Khaleda for welcoming the winner of the Comilla City Corporation election Monirul Haque Sakku.

Sakku had left BNP to contest the newly-formed city corporation's Jan 5 elections under the banner of 'Citizens Committee' by going against the party's decision to boycott the elections over the use of EVM (electronic voting machines).

Hasina said all elections during her tenure have been fair.

She also charged that the killing of journalists during the tenure of BNP-Jamaat government had not been tried.

"The media is totally free in Awami League's reign," she claimed.

Patients not getting drugs at hospitals: minister

DHAKA NEWS

Dhaka, Feb 26  Patients are not getting all drugs from the hospitals despite their being available, the health minister on Sunday said and blamed it on the hospital store-keepers.

"I saw patients buying drugs from outside with hospital's prescriptions. Later I found those drugs in the store. They were supposed to get it free. But the store-keeper told them there is no supply," AFM Ruhal Haque said while opening a scientific seminar in the capital, after a two-day visit to hospitals in the southern districts.

"They maintain ties with drug shops outside and tell patients there are no drugs," he said.

The minister claimed that after government-supplied drugs were packaged in national bi-colours, no-one could sell those drugs in the open market.

As pilferage of government supplied drugs from the hospitals was widespread across Bangladesh, the government in 2010 had introduced national bi-colour packaging for their supplied drugs.

A Development Organisation for the Rural Poor (DORP) researcher Zobair Hasan, who monitors upazilla health service delivery system, said he also found many drugs expire in the hospitals.

"Store-keepers do not let people know the actual situation of drug supply," he told  and added that they took the new approach when they found it hard to sell drugs outside after new colour packaging.

"You will find many drug shops (pharmacy) adjacent to every upazilla hospital. They (store-keepers) maintain links with them," he said. Hasan added that as store-keepers are locally recruited and cannot be transferred, no one dares to move against them.

He suggested: "Let the people be informed what types of drugs in what quantities are available in the hospital."

"The hospital can hang a chart in front of the outdoor. If people know about the availability, they would not be cheated."

The minister in his surprise visits to few upazilla hospitals on Thursday and Friday noticed different anomalies and ordered departmental measures against the offenders.

ICT asks Janakantha to print rejoinders

DHAKA NEWS

Dhaka, Feb 26 The war crimes tribunal told daily Janakantha senior reporter Bikash Dutta to print rejoinders for two of his reports regarding witness testimonies against Delwar Hossain Sayedee.

The International Crimes Tribunal, set up to try crimes against humanity during 1971 Liberation War, indicted the Jamaat-e-Islami executive council member Sayedee on 20 counts of such crimes on Oct 3.

Sayedee's defence had brought a contempt petition on Feb 23 citing two reports of the Bengali daily claiming that the report headlines were grossly misleading.

The tribunal chairman on that day decided to put the matter on hold since the reporter concerned was not present at the court at that time.

On Sunday, Justice Nizamul Huq, the tribunal chairman, cautioned the journalists about coverage of the war crimes tribunal.

He said in his observation that Dutta's first report that defence counsel Tajul Islam had annexed in his petition was indeed "highly contemptuous" and he recalled cautioning the press on that instance.

Tribunal chief Justice Huq asked soon after convening the court whether the Janakantha reporter was present. Upon his response, Huq asked him to sit down and began to address Bikash Dutta about his reports.

But ATM Fazle Kabir intervened saying that the journalist should remain standing. The tribunal chairman agreed and Dutta was told to stand up as Huq began to address him.

Huq continued, "These reports that you file about the tribunal, and I am addressing all the journalists through you, you should be cautious."

"I was saying just the other day that we have thickened our skin," said Justice Huq, referring to a number of reports that did not reflect the facts.

Refraining from citing any examples, the tribunal chief said that the judges of the tribunal got to read a number of newspapers and found that many of the papers did not quite reproduce what was being said in the courtroom.

"Please brother journalists, be cautious in future," Huq said addressing the entire press present in his court. "I hope this will be the last time that I have to say this."

"It is indeed unfair that you will report only parts of the proceedings that go against a certain party and not the rest. It is possible that there are human errors, but mind you partial reporting is quite obvious when we read the reports. And we understand it well."

The tribunal chairman said in his observation said that journalists must be "careful and cautious" so that such misreporting does not recur.

Justice Huq said the judges were there to make sure that the prosecution, defence or the accused do not suffer slander "and it is our duty to look after that".

The tribunal chief concluded saying, "I really do not like to say these every now and then. We find it thoroughly unpleasant."

Although Tajul Islam submitted to the tribunal chairman that he at least asked the reporter why he had done this, Huq replied that he was not inclined to hear the journalist.

"But this is absolutely crucifying me. I am being murdered in public!" said Islam on behalf of his client, Sayedee.

THE PETITION

Tajul Islam placed the petition bringing to the court's attention a report by the daily newspaper regarding the last witness testimony. The 27th prosecution witness, Saif Hafizur Rahman, sitting president of the Narail District Bar Association, had told the court his brother Saif Mizanur Rahman and two other had been abducted by collaborators and later tortured and killed.

According to the witness, Sayedee was present in the car that took his elder brother, Pirojpur magistrate during the Liberation War, to the Baleshwar River.

Mizanur Rahman was then stabbed with bayonets and later shot to death. His body was thrown into the river.

The headline of a news story reporting the witness testimony of Feb 20 published in the daily newspaper on Feb 21 puts Sayedee at the scene of murder. The headline reads, 'Paki soldiers stabbed my brother to death in front of Sayedee'. Tajul Islam, who generally argues most of the cases for all the Jamaat leaders, said that while the contents of the story were closer to the fact, the headline was damaging for his client.

"We would suffer prejudice with this kind of headline."

He also referred to a previous headline from another witness testimony that alleged Sayedee to have raped Madhusudan Gharami's newly wedded wife. On that instance Sayedee's defence had merely brought the headline to the court's attention which Justice Nizamul Huq said was wrong.

Tajul Islam said there was a clear trend of maligning his client and was of the opinion that such news was contemptuous.

He began his petition saying, "We are not against any individual or any particular media outlet but this kind of news prejudices the party."

Justice Nizamul Huq advised the counsel saying that there had been numerous reports about the tribunal and the tribunal, in response, had learnt to grow a thicker skin.

The tribunal chairman then asked the counsellor, "Do you want to set fire to an entire village with this little match stick?"

Justice Huq was obviously referring to the can of worms that the defence petition could potentially lead to.

Tajul Islam then referred to the famous saying of Joseph Goebbels, in charge of propaganda of Nazi Germany, and told the judges that these were lies. "But just like Goebbels had said, if you keep repeating it often enough, it becomes the truth."

Tribunal member A T M Fazle Kabir said that the other headline, reporting the testimony of the prosecution's 23rd witness Madhusudan Gharami who had deposed on Feb 1, alleging Sayedee of rape was indeed wrong. "We also believe that heading was contemptuous." He did not, however, comment on the headline published on Feb 21.

Justice Nizamul Huq then called for Bikash Datta, the reporter who generally covers the tribunal for Janakantha. Upon finding that Datta was not present, Justice Huq queried if there was anyone from the paper. There was no one present from the paper.

He then ordered that the petition remain pending until Sunday and asked that the reporter be present on that day.

Addressing the media in the court room, he clarified, "This is not an order for him to appear before the court, mind you."

"I am merely asking him to be present in the court when the petition goes up for hearing."


FIRST CASE TO TRIAL

Sayedee's is the first case to proceed to the trial stage at the tribunal. The prosecution on Sept 4 proposed framing of charges against him on 31 counts for crimes against humanity and genocide.

On Oct 3, the tribunal indicted Sayedee on 20 counts.

The tribunal also sent Jamaat's former chief Ghulam Azam to jail on Jan 11. His indictment hearing began on Feb 15 and the tribunal rejected his second bail petition on Thursday.

Besides Sayedee, Jamaat chief Matiur Rahman Nizami, secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed and assistant secretaries general Mohammad Kamaruzzaman and Abdul Quader Molla, and Bangladesh Nationalist Party's standing committee member and MP Salauddin Quader Chowdhury have been detained on war crimes charges.

The tribunal granted conditional bail to former BNP lawmaker and minister Abdul Alim on March 31 last year. The bail was extended further on Jan 16, ordering him to be present in the court on Mar 15 when the prosecution has been directed to submit formal charges against the BNP leader.

Police 'sure' about murder motive

DHAKA NEWS

Dhaka, Feb 26 Police on Sunday said they are 'almost certain' about the motive behind the killings of the journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi.

"We are almost certain about the motive but cannot disclose it for the sake of the investigation," Dhaka Metropolitan Police's ADC Mohammad Monirul Islam told the journalists at his office.

He dismissed the idea of carrying 'block raid' in the capital and detaining or arresting anyone in connection with the murder.

On Feb 11, Maasranga Television news editor Golam Mostofa Sarowar, alias Sagar Sarowar, and his wife, ATN Bangla senior reporter Meherun Nahar Runi, were found murdered at their flat in the city's west Rajabazar area.

Inspector general of police (IGP) Hassan Mahmood Khandker had earlier claimed "remarkable progress" in solving the Sagar-Runi case within a 48-hour deadline set by the home minister on the day of the murder.

But 15 days on, police are yet to make any arrests or name suspects.

When journalists asked Islam about the progress in the probe, Monirul Islam said, "Huge progress have been made but we cannot quantify it now."

He also dismissed several news reports that police had detained a number of people in Gazipur and Munshiganj for questioning.

"Several newspapers talked about block raids. Those who wrote about it might have done so based on their own information," Islam added.

"These statements have been published as many do not have clear idea about block raid."

When his attention was drawn to the information posted on the social networking sites and blogs about the murders, he said, "I have seen from my experience that whenever any 'big' incident occurs, some people tend to spread rumours. It was no different this time, too."

The ADC said he had received at least 20 anonymous letters so far and many text messages with each one of them suggesting different names of the killers and their motives.

When asked if his remark meant the writings and posts on the internet are not being looked into with importance, Islam said, "We are attaching importance to everything."