Media reports have said that militants had links with key functionaries of the government (2001-06) headed by Begum Khaleda Zia.

Tajuddin, who is absconding, is the brother of Abdus Salam Pintu, a deputy minister in Zia's government, now under detention for his links with militants' bodies.

Having unearthed the missing link in the probe to get at the source of the grenades, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Chief Public Prosecutor Syed Rezaur Rahman June 25 submitted a prayer to a Dhaka court for further investigation into the 2004 attack.

'We're expecting more important leads from Mansur on the suppliers of grenades used in the Aug 21 attack,' said a top detective on condition of anonymity.

Mansur Ali, who was living in Bangladesh for around 17 years with fake identity and serving as a madrasa teacher, also said most of the grenade throwers at the Awami League rally were Afghan war veterans having expertise in handling explosives.

The other detained LeT leader Mufti Obaidullah was also hiding in Bangladesh for 14 years assuming false identity and was serving as a madrasa teacher.

The police zeroed down on the two after arresting Abdur Rauf Daud Merchant, a fugitive from Indian law convicted for the killing of Bollywood music baron Gulshan Kumar.