Banned militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) has been using the Jamaat-e-Islami to recruit members in Bangladesh’s north, investigators claim.
Humayun Kabir, deputy inspector general of police’s Rangpur range, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that most JMB members were young men from poor families who studied in madrasas.
A police source said: “The JMB is using Jamaat’s huge network to recruit new members. Most JMB men arrested in this region were previously involved with either Jamaat or its student front Islami Chhatra Shibir.”
Deputy Inspector General Monirul Islam had told the Dhaka Tribune that during interrogations several Jamaat leaders had confessed to working with the militant group.
Jamaat leaders could not be contacted for comments.
Investigators of the recent killing of a Hindu priest in Panchagarh said they learned that JMB militants, working in small groups, used hit-and-run tactic to attack Hindu and Christian priests and foreigners.
Law-enforcers claim to have identified 12 JMB groups operating in the region, mainly in Rangpur, Dinajpur, Panchagarh and Gaibandha. They say they got the information from several JMB activists arrested in Gaibandha last week. The leader of the group is Sadat alias Ratan Miah.
On Sunday, three motorcycle-borne assailants attacked the Sonto Gaurio Temple in Panchagarh’s Debiganj upazila and slaughtered priest Jogeshwar Roy, 50. His neighbour Gopal Chandra Roy, 35, was injured when he tried to save Jogeshwar.
Our Panchagarh correspondent said police were interrogating two suspected JMB men and a Shibir activist over the incident. They are Khalilur Rahman, 45, Bablu Hossain, 40, and Jahangir Alam, 25.
DIG Humayun said: “We have got some clues about the group responsible for the killing and hope to arrest them soon.”
Investigators, for the first time, said they suspected international link behind the recent murder. Tanvir Hassan Zoha, focus person of the Cyber Safety Programme, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that a tweet claiming responsibility for the killing was sent from Chittagong.
The message, uploaded from an Android device, has been found on ISBD 2 and other purported IS-operated Facebook pages, he said adding that they would be able to pinpoint the location within a day or two.
Zoha, currently giving technical support to Police Bureau of Investigation and assisting in probing Jogeshwar’s killing, said: “After analysing militant activities and the message upload history, we suspect that international groups could have had a hand in this killing. But it is not the right time to make assertions. We hope to verify it shortly and identify location and possible activities of these groups.”
DIG Monirul contested the claim. “We have found no such links in previous cases. But the investigation is at its primary stage and its too early to say who is responsible,” he said.
Terrorist group Islamic State had reportedly claimed credit in the past over various religious attacks and killing of foreigners and secular writers in Bangladesh but the government rejected the claims saying the militant group was not active in the country.
Monirul said they were in touch with local police over the priest’s killing in Panchagarh. “We will assist them in the investigation, if needed,” he added.
Sources said recently arrested militant suspects had told investigators that the JMB high command asked its members not to use regular cell phones to avoid detection. The outfit’s members were using smartphones. They record instructions on memory sticks and use them to communicate. These cards can be easily destroyed if the JMB members are caught, the sources added.