Jama’at-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) is planning a major attack in the country in order to reassert itself, as it takes advantage of the political uncertainty in the country to regroup, a top law enforcement official has said.
“For this reason they were trying to contact each other, to plan a major act of destruction and prove their presence in the country,” Commander Mufti Mahmud Khan, director of the legal and media wing of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), said yesterday.
The intelligence assessment is based on statements of five JMB members in custody, including its chief coordinator in Bangladesh, arrested by RAB 12 from Sirajganj railway station early yesterday.
The arrestees were identified as JMB chief coordinator Md Abdun Nur, “Ehsar” members Nur Islam and Md Nuruzzaman Arif, and “Gaery Ehsar” members Abul Kalam Azad and Fauq Ahmed.
Bomb making materials were seized from their possession, Mufti Mahmud said.
Police said Nur was staying with his associates in Chapainawabganj district but was forced to change location to get away from a massive RAB drive. Nur then set off for Joydebpur from Chapainawabganj by train, but was arrested together with associates by RAB 12 officers at Mansur Ali Railway Station in Sirajganj, Mahmud said.
In addition to being the JMB’s chief coordinator, Nur also heads the Chapainawabganj district unit of the banned militant group.
The explosive devices were being taken by the militants to another location, perhaps the intended site of an attack, said the legal and media wing director. But investigators do not have new information about a specific attack plan, he said.
Nur was working to recruit new members and contact fugitive and bailed leaders of the outfit according to the plan of fugitive JMB leader Sohel Mahfuz. Nur was in touch with him continuously, said Mufti Mahmud, speaking at RAB headquarters in the capital’s Uttara neighbourhood.
Mahmud was not able to offer any information about the location of Sohel Mahfuz, saying the elite force was working on it. He said Nur was collecting funds for the outfit to reorganise their members and carry out an attack.
Abul Kalam Azad, director of the intelligence wing of RAB, told the Dhaka Tribune that the outfit collected funds using the “Iranot” system, which basically means receiving donations or a portion of monthly income from supporters. He said that the financing network was still being investigated.
Nur is the prime accused in six different cases filed with Tungipara, Moksedpur and Narayanganj police stations.
He was arrested in a robbery case at Kotalipara of Gopalganj and was behind bars for six years. While in jail, he met Tarikul, a resident of Shibganj of Chapainawabganj, and another person named Masum. Both invited Nur to join JMB after his release. Nur got out of jail in 2010, according to a RAB intelligence source.
According to RAB, JMB divides its activities into two groups. These groups are called “Isaba” and “Daye.” The main responsibilities of the “Isaba” group is to collect arms and others weapons, while the “Daye” group’s job is to recruit members.
Arrestee Nuruzzaman Arif, 23, is a current student of software engineering at the Dhanmondi branch of Daffodil University. He came into contact with JMB acting chief Abdullah Al Tasnim, 30, during Ramadan this year.
Tasnim, the acting chief of the JMB, was arrested by Detective Branch of Police (DB) last month and is currently behind bars.
Arrestee Nur Islam Sagor completed his Alim degree in 2014 from Thakurgaon Islami Kamil Madrasa. Arrestee Azad completed a Kamil degree from Chapainawabganj Hifzul Ulum Fayza Khanom Kamil Madrasa in 2010, according to RAB.
Mufti Mahmud said the bombs recovered from the JMB members were very powerful and able to destroy everything in a 30-metre radius. He said police were working on tracing the source of the explosives equipment.
He said law enforcement agencies were still in the primary stages of the investigation and that legal action would taken against the arrestees after further questioning.