Detectives claimed to have got information that several militant outfits had joined forces to form a new platform in the wake of strong anti-militancy vigilance from law enforcers.
Yesterday, the Detective Branch (DB) of police organised a conference to let media know about the arrest of four members of banned militant group Harkat-ul Jihad Al Islami Bangladesh (Huji-B) and the information derived from them.
DB said Huji-B members Mawlana Mohammad Rafiq Ahmed alias Sajid, Md Umar alias Foyzul alias Roby, Md Nadim Ahmed alias Sumon and Md Salahuddin Ahmed – all aged between mid-20s and mid-30s – were picked up early yesterday in separate drives in Uttara and Tikatuli in the capital and Narayanganj city.
Rafiq is a teacher at the Foyzul Ulum Madrassa, better known as the Boktaboli Madrassa, in Narayanganj and the Imam of the local Amtoli Mosque.
Umar is a final year student of chemistry at the capital’s Prime University. Huji-B took over Umar’s responsibilities when he was a sixth grader, bearing all his educational expenses since then.
According to DB, the new platform was named Bangladesh Jihadi Group, comprising banned outfits Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), Huji-B and the Ansarullah Bangla Team. Their primary plan was to stage some big attacks here to get the attention of international groups such as the Islamic State (IS) and the global sponsors of militancy.
“Detectives have traced two bomb making laboratories in Dhaka and Narayanganj and recovered a huge stash of bomb-making substances. A detonator, which could be worth around Tk1.3 lakh, at least 55 different types of explosive substances and a Pakistan-made sub-machine gun were also recovered during the drives,” DB Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam said at the media briefing.
One of the laboratories is located in Rankin Street in Wari in the capital and the other in Fatullah of Narayanganj. Both have been set up about a couple of months back.
DB has learned during primary interrogation that Rafiq is the chief of Huji-B’s operations wing, Umar has special training on bomb-making and Salahuddin ensured logistics.
DB boss Monir said Huji-B had been planning massive attacks on several key places in Dhaka, Chittagong and Rajshahi. They also had plans to attack important persons of the state and country.
Although Monir did not disclose who the important persons were, a DB official, seeking anonymity, told the Dhaka Tribune that one of their prime targets was Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Despite being in jail since 2009 in connection with the August 21 grenade attack, their chief Mawlana Abu Jafor had been giving them instructions for these plans. “Salahuddin and Sumon, disguised as relatives, used to meet Jafor at the Kashimpur jail gate or on the court premises,” Monir said.
The official, who sought anonymity, also said one of the sources of their fund originated in Pakistan.
Monir said: “Initially, they were planning large scale chaos in August, but later shifted their timing to the last week of October because of strong law enforcement vigilance.”
He also said the detectives had got some names of financiers and sources of arms supply, but were still to verify their identities.
Separate cases had been filed with the Wari, Uttara (West) and Fatullah police stations against the four Huji-B members. They were produced before the chief metropolitan magistrate’s court of Dhaka yesterday following which police were granted six days’ remand for each.