Major bomb blasts and ammunition hauls in the last four years still stand unresolved and criminals go scot-free because of politicisation of the investigation process.

To date, no-one knows who actually masterminded the bomb attack on the CPB rally at Paltan Maidan or on the Mymensingh cinemas. Although the leading political parties levelled charges

against each other, no proof was actually provided by investigators.

About 100 innocent people were killed and 500 injured in the

bloodbaths -- inflicted largely by bomb explosions. Some of the injured never recovered and became disabled and the rest are still traumatised.

The governments paid some compensation to the victims and their families, but could not complete even a single investigation into the bestial acts. The subversive activities are still cloaked in mystery.

The train of carnage scarred the spirit of the nation, striking with regular intervals. Ten concertgoers were killed in an explosion at an

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Udichi function on March 6, 1999 and eight more were bombed to death at a Kadiyani Mosque in Khulna on October 8 in the same year.

Seven people were killed in near-simultaneous bomb blast at the CPB rally and near the Awami League (AL) office on January 20, 2001. Before the wounds of the scars could heal, the Ramna Batamul bloodbath claimed 10 innocent lives on April 14, 2001.

Then came the mindless killing of 10 people in a Baniyachar Church bomb attack on June 3, 2001. Barely 12 days later, an explosion at the Awami League office in Narayanganj killed 22 people.

Eight people were killed in an attack on Bagerhat AL rally on September 23, 2001 and three in a Satkhira cinema explosion on September 28, 2002.

Twenty-one moviegoers were blown up in bomb explosions in four Mymensingh cinemas on December 6, 2002.

In the most recent Bogra ammunition and explosive haul, police seized nearly 1,00,000 bullets and 200kg explosives.

In addition, there were a number of disturbing incidents. These include recovery of 76kg explosives and bombs from Gopalganj where former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was supposed to address a rally and recovery of bombs from the Janakantha premises, a Kadiyani mosque in Dhaka, a mosque in Mirpur and from other places.

In each of these incidents, the then AL government blamed the 'fundamentalist forces' that joined hands with the main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) for the crimes.

And when such incidents surfaced under the present government, the government took no time to shift the blame onto the AL.

The opposition dismissed the charges in all cases and held the government responsible for failing to avert the incidents. They also demanded a judicial inquiry.

Bogra munition hauls also saw confusing directions. On the first day of the cache seizure, the home minister told the Jatiya Sangsad that the AL was scheming to destabilise the government.

The police headquarters in a statement echoed the home minister on Friday in which it named an AL

activist for possessing the huge stash of bullets, but refrained from naming a BNP activist who also possessed the ammunition.

Following the Udichi incident, then prime minister Sheikh Hasina had called upon the opposition saying: "Give up the politics of bomb explosion and come to parliament." In response, the BNP had demanded a judicial inquiry into the blast.

Later then leader of the opposition Khaleda Zia said, "The incident was done by the Awami League and it is now framing the BNP."

Following the CPB incident, Khaleda held the government responsible for the blast and then home minister Mohammad Nasim accused the BNP and Jamaat of the killings.

In the wake of the Mymensingh cinema explosions last year, the government became hyperactive to arrest AL stalwarts and intellectuals within four hours. They were released upon the High Court intervention and no charges have been pressed against any one of them so far.

In the Narayanganj incident that took place during the AL regime, cases were filed against a number of BNP activists. When the BNP took office, the police filed the final report saying the allegations against the accused could not be proved. But in a strange twist, a new case was filed accusing a number ofAL activists.

The practice shifted the focus of investigators to nowhere and destroyed the cases one after another.

Investigators believe that none of the incidents actually had anything to do with the internal politics of the AL and BNP. There are indications that some other forces succeeded to remain invisible because of the general lack of political will to uncover the truth, punish the real criminals and take effective measures to protect the nation from such brutal acts.

See Editorial on Page 4