The investigators of the August 21 grenade attack now say the four-party government had cooked up the story that the blasts were carried out by a criminal gang, as 'confessed' by a petty criminal Joj Miah, who was also a creation of the police.

They are now following on a new clue that a group of Afghan war veterans might be involved in the carnage.

However, almost three years down the line, the crime still remains unresolved, thanks to directions coming from former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar who acted as a conduit for carrying out instructions of the infamous Hawa Bhaban.

Police officials, who until the political scene change were tightlipped about the case, are now talking about how the focus of the case was shifted. They say the then supervising officer of the case, Ruhul Amin, had churned out Joj Miah out of nowhere to cover up the real criminals. As the petty criminal made the so-called confession about his involvement in the attack, the CID paid Tk 2,500 for Joj Miah's family's upkeep, his sister later told the media.

Investigation officer of the case Munshi Atiqur Rahman told The Daily Star that the current investigation is ignoring the 'Joj Miah theory' and claimed that significant progress has been made into the case and that search for the suspects is on.

Investigators also rule out the involvement of Ulfa rebels as the Indian media reported.

The military-backed government on March 25 had branded the assassination attempt on Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina as a sensational case and enlisted it with the home ministry's monitoring cell for proper investigation and quick disposal.