Who threw so many arms into Diabari canal? 

The police had recovered a cache of arms, ammunition and explosives from the Diabari canal in the capital’s Uttara area eight years ago in 2016. 

No cases have so far been filed over the incident, though the Turag police station then recorded three general diaries (GD). The police have recently submitted final reports in the GDs, without accusing anyone.  

The incident of arms recovery had triggered large-scale discussions across the country. The police officials had suspected that some terrorist gangs might have brought the arms from the bordering areas to carry out sabotage and thrown them into the canal due to lack of a safe storage. 

However, the police have recently submitted final reports to the chief metropolitan magistrate’s (CMM) court in Dhaka, saying that they could not reveal the individuals and their motive behind the illegal arms. 

Ahmedul Islam, additional deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s (DMP) counter terrorism and transnational crime (CTTC) unit, investigated the three GDs. He has recently been promoted to the rank of the superintendent of police (SP). 

The police officer recently disclosed his findings during a conversation with Prothom Alo. According to him, the final reports noted that no suspects were found to be involved or linked with the recovered arms and ammunition. There might be a fresh investigation if any link, or individual comes up.  

The weapons were found in the Diabari canal near a Buddhist temple at Sector-16 of Uttara on 18 June, 2016. A staggering 95 pieces of 7.62mm pistols, two 9mm pistols, 462 magazines (including 263 for SMGs), 1060 bullets, 10 bayonets, and 180 cleaning rods were found in seven black bags. 

On the following day, three more bags were recovered from the canal, with 32 SMG magazines and 8 cleaning rods.

In the third phase on 25 June, three more bags were found in another canal of the area, with 5 walkie-talkies, 2 transmitters, 2 feeder cables, 22 boxes with various electronic components, 7 packets of explosive gel, 40 polythene bags filled with electronic equipment, and 325 spring-loaded boxes. Also, some electric devices were recovered from the canal. 

A police constable, who went to visit a relative’s place in the area on 18 June, noticed a black jeep without a number plate disposing of some black bags into the canal around 3:00 pm. As he reported the incident to his seniors, a police team went to the spot, prompting the black jeep to flee. The recoveries came in further developments. 

Visiting the spot, the then commissioner of DMP, Asaduzzaman Mia, told the media that the incident does not seem to be committed by any ordinary criminals. It is believed to be carried out by the people who intend to create anarchy both nationally and internationally and want to foil the country’s graduation as a middle-income nation. 

Asaduzzaman Mia went on post-retirement leave (PRL) on 13 August, 2019. During three years of investigation under his tenure, the investigators could not identify the individuals behind the illegal weapons. 

While talking to Prothom Alo recently, the former DMP chief claimed that there were to-some-extent advancement in investigation during his tenure. The bullets recovered from Uttara were similar to those recovered from ten trucks in Chattogram. 

The CTTC specialists then opined that the arms of Diabari were part of the arms that were being shipped in ten trucks, he added. 

The ten trucks filled with arms and ammunition were seized from Chattogram in 2004. The weapons of Diabari were actually the remainder of the consignment and were concealed in Dhaka. The concerned individuals might have thrown them into the canal due to fear of getting arrested during search operations, he explained, citing the CTTC specialists.