Militant Marjan’s wife was among the three

One of the trio, Afrin alias Priyoti, 25, is the wife of Gulshan attack coordinator Nurul Islam alias Shakil alias Marjan. Police are looking for Marjan, former Shibir leader, after several arrested New JMB members disclosed his name during interrogation. Officials say the women knew each other from before and that their husbands coaxed them into militancy. Two of them are highly educated. All of them are undergoing treatment in police custody. Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit’s Additional Deputy Commissioner Sanowar Hossain said that they would produce the trio before the court seeking remand. “We hope to get more information from them after interrogation,” he said. Two others arrested on that day are Abedatul Fatema alias Khadiza, 35, wife of Tanvir Qadri alias Abdul Karim alias Jamshed who killed himself during the raid, and Shaila Afrin, 23, wife of absconding militant leader Jaman alias Basharuzzaman. Names of their husbands were also mentioned in a case filed against them. Tanvir’s whole family is involved in militancy. Their two sons followed in their parents’ footsteps. One of them, Tahrim Qadri alias Rasel was arrested from the Azimpur den. Police named him in the case too. Rasel’s twin brother is said to have been sent to the path of “Jihad.” CT unit Deputy Commissioner Mohibul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune that Rasel, 14, was produced before a court with a five-day remand prayer. The hearing might take place Sunday or Monday. The court sent Rasel to the juvenile correction centre. The law enforcers claim that Rasel attacked the police with a knife during the raid. Rasel has a twin brother, but he was not found in the house during the raid. An officer said that the other brother might be sent to Jihad according to the family decision. A level VIII student of Mastermind School at Dhanmondi, Rasel became irregular in classes for the last few months. The two other children found at the den – Junaira alias Pinki, 8, and 10-month-old Sabiha Jaman alias Ruhi – were handed over to their families on September 12, Additional Deputy Commissioner (media) Yousuf Ali told the Dhaka Tribune. Investigators say Priyoti is the daughter of one Abdul Jalil from Pabna’s Ishwardi. Marjan is her maternal cousin. The couple went into hiding soon after they were married this January. Priyoti reportedly passed Alim from a local madrasa. Militant Jaman’s wife Shaila, daughter of one Abul Hashem, had gone missing two years ago when she was an undergraduate student. The family filed a complaint with Kalabagan police. She reportedly got involved in militancy after her marriage to Jaman. According to sources, she attacked the policemen with a knife and tried to escape leaving her 10-month-old child behind. Former North South University student Jaman used to stay at his in-law’s house at Tejgaon, and had no contact with his family in Rajshahi’s Tanore for the last two years. On the other hand, militant Tanvir’s wife Khadiza, daughter of one Kawsar Ahammed, is a highly-educated woman. Her ancestral home is in West Batkamari area under Boali in Gaibandha sadar. She used to work at a private company like her husband. Tanvir coaxed his wife into militancy, and shortly after that, they both quit their jobs. Police hunt for Murad’s wife Jebunnahar, the wife of New JMB trainer Zahidul Islam alias Maj Murad who was killed in a police raid in Mirpur area on September 2, escaped with her daughter before the Azimpur raid. But she left her passport and bank documents which were seized by the police. CT unit officials say they discovered the hideout when looking for Jebunnahar. Now she might have got in touch with another militant of the same gang and is laying low at a different hideout. Her family members said that Jebunnahar used to lead a modern life and got involved in militancy through her husband, who retired from the army last year and later took a job at Lake Head Grammar School. Police say Murad and Tanvir were close associates of Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury, the key coordinator of the New JMB killed in a raid along with his two cohorts in Narayanganj on August 27. According to media reports, the outfit – having ties to international terrorist group Islamic State – is responsible for carrying out at least 26 attacks since September last year that killed 45 people including 23 in the Gulshan attack and injured dozens. Since November, at least 31 members of the deadly group have been killed in police raids while two others died by their own hands.