The last investigation officer of the August 21 grenade attack cases yesterday testified in court against three former Criminal Investigation Department officials over their involvement in diverting the course of probe.

Abdul Kahar Akond, special superintendent of police of the CID, who had completed an investigation into the incident, narrated before a Dhaka court how former CID special superintendent of police Ruhul Amin, ASP Abdur Rashid and ASP Munshi Atiqur Rahman made a drama linking one Joj Miah.

Akond said that before he took over the investigation charge several other officials, including the three, investigated the 2004 grenade attack on an Awami League rally in Dhaka, which killed 24 party leaders and workers and injured more than 300 others. 

Four days after the attack, the then ASP Rashid took up the responsibility of probing the incident. He arrested 20 people including Joj Miah in the cases.

During his investigation, Rashid produced three accused -- Joj Miah, Abul Hashem Rana and Shafiqul Islam -- before magistrates for recording their confessional statements.

Later the confessional statements of the three were found to be false and fabricated in the investigation done by the next IO Fazlul Kabir.

ASP Rashid did not make any move to arrest Harkatul Jihad al Islami (Huji) leader Mufti Abdul Hannan and his accomplices though they had been involved in carrying out the grenade attack.

Even after Hannan's arrest in October 2005 in other cases, Rashid did not take any step to show him arrested in the August 21 attack cases. 

Following Rashid's retirement, ASP Atiqur Rahman took over the charge of probing the cases in December 2005.

He also did not show Hannan and his accomplices arrested in the August 21 cases though they had confessed to their involvement in the grenade attack during their interrogations in cases linked with the attacks on the then British high commissioner and in other places.

Throughout the time, the then CID special superintendent of police Ruhul Amin supervised the probes conducted by Rashid and Atiqur Rahman.

In July 2007, ASP Fazlul Kabir began investigating the grenade attack cases and found that the previous CID officials had not probed the incident properly.

He filed a case with Motijheel police against the former CID officials in March 2009 accusing them of diverting the course of probe.

Fazlul Kabir arrested Hannan and six others in the August 21 cases and took steps for recording of their confessional statements.

In June 2007, he pressed charges against 22 people, including Hannan and BNP leader Abdus Salam Pintu.

At the same time, he dropped the names of Joj Miah and 19 others from the charge sheets and appealed to the court to free them of the charges.

But the court in August 2009 ordered a further investigation as the prosecution submitted two petitions saying the previous investigators had not found sources and suppliers of Arges grenades used in the attack.

In August that year, Akond took over the investigation charge.

Judge Shahed Nuruddin of the Speedy Trial Tribunal 1 in Dhaka yesterday recorded Akond's statement partially. The rest will be recorded on October 3.

A total of 224 prosecution witnesses have so far given their statements before the same tribunal.