Grenades, other weapons recovered from Islamic University halls

Grenades, domestic weapons, firearms, alcohol bottles, and items used to consume drugs have been recovered from the rooms controlled by Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) at Islamic University (IU).

Most of the items were found in the Bangabandhu Hall and Saddam Hossain Hall, said the student activists of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement who conducted the raid.

The recovered weapons were handed over to the army in front of Bangabandhu Hall around 4pm on Thursday (16 August), while the alcohol bottles and items used to consume drugs were handed over to the IU Police Station.

Among the items recovered were one firearm, six bullets, a grenade, ten machetes, eight knives, an axe, two hockey sticks, two hand sticks, six GI pipes, 49 rods, three iron rods, three packets of firecrackers, 500 grams of cocktail explosives, 200 grams of petrol, 300 marbles, 19 empty alcohol bottles, two empty bottles of Phensedyl, nine Yaba tablets and items used to consume marijuana, the students said.

"After the fall of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, the students broke into the rooms controlled by the Chhatra League and recovered these domestic weapons. Everything recovered was handed over to the army and police. Our recovery operations will continue," said SM Sweet, coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement at IU.

Professor Shahadat Hossain Azad, the university proctor, said, "The administration was not aware of these issues. The recovered weapons have been handed over to the army. The students are doing good work, and further operations will be conducted under the administration's instructions."

Mamun Rahman, the officer-in-charge at IU police station, said, "We did not conduct any operation. The students recovered a few empty alcohol bottles and handed them over to police, and I heard that the weapons were handed over to the army."