Abdus Salam Pinto, Key Figure in August 21 Grenade Attack, Released from Prison

Abdus Salam Pinto, Vice Chairman of BNP and former State Minister for Education, has been released from prison after nearly 17 years. He was freed from Kashimpur Central Jail on Tuesday, December 24, at around 11 AM, following his acquittal in the August 21 grenade attack case. His release was met with a large gathering of family members and party supporters at the prison gates, where they greeted him with flowers and celebrated the moment.

Pinto was previously accused of serious involvement in the August 21 grenade attack investigation. However, on December 1, the High Court declared the verdict of the lower court in the case illegal, rejecting the death reference and approving the appeals of the accused. As a result, Pinto was released from jail. Senior Jail Superintendent of Kashimpur Central Jail, Al Mamun, confirmed that Pinto’s bail documents arrived at the prison on Monday, and after verification, he was released on Tuesday morning.

Abdus Salam Pinto was the founding General Secretary of BNP’s Tangail District unit and was elected Member of Parliament three times from the Tangail-2 (Gopalpur-Bhuanpur) constituency. He served as the State Minister for Education in 2001. Pinto had been in prison since his arrest in 2008 in connection with the August 21 grenade attack case, where he was sentenced to death.

The August 21 grenade attack was primarily planned by Mufti Hannan and Maulana Tajuddin, who were driven by extreme Islamist ideologies. Pinto, the elder brother of Maulana Tajuddin, played a pivotal role in facilitating the attack. Mufti Hannan, driven by a long-held desire to kill Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, along with Maulana Tajuddin’s extremist views, approached Pinto for assistance. Pinto then facilitated a connection with the then Home Minister, Lutfozzaman Babar, and the Hawa Bhaban. Pakistani national Majed Bhatt provided military-grade RGSG grenades to Pinto’s residence. On August 18, 2004, Mufti Hannan collected the grenades from Pinto’s house, which were later used in the attack. Following the attack, Maulana Tajuddin was quickly sent to Pakistan using a fake passport, under the alias ‘Badal.’

Despite the controversial High Court ruling, Abdus Salam Pinto was granted release today. According to BNP’s media cell, after his release, Pinto plans to visit the mausoleum of BNP founder Ziaur Rahman and then head to the party’s central office in Nayapaltan.