The law enforcers have claimed that they found specific foreign links with the snatching of three convicted JMB militants at Trishal of Mymensingh.
“We have received specific information of foreign aid to the JMB militants in planning and carrying out the snatching, but for the sake of investigation, we cannot disclose the names of those involved and their country of origin,” Joint Commissioner of Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Monirul Islam said yesterday.
He said they received information by interrogating the JMB men arrested so far since the incident.
At least 20 days have passed since the two convicted JMB men were whisked away. A large group of young thugs intercepted a prison van, opened fire on police that killed a constable and whisked away three including two death row activists of JMB in Trishal upazila of Mymensingh on February 23.
Later, police recaptured one militant Rakib, who was killed in “crossfire” on February 24.
However, two remaining militants Salauddin Salehin and bomb specialist Mizan are still on the run.
The DB and Dhaka district police yesterday arranged a joint press conference to announce the update of their drive against JMB men.
They said they had so far arrested 11 suspected militants who were involved with the incident of snatching.
The seized materials also included a Pakistan intelligence manual’s Bangla translated copy which described how the JMB men would carry out operation dodging law enforcers, added police.
Of the arrestees, five including two financers of the outlawed organisation were arrested in the last 36 hours from inside and outside the capital.
Though several high-ups of different intelligence agencies had earlier suspected that the two JMB men slipped out of the country through northern frontier, the DB chief claimed that the JMB men were in the country.
“There is no specific information that they escaped the country. So, we believe that they are still in our territory,” he said.
However, the DB chief said they sought help from intelligence agencies of some countries to capture the JMB men by sharing information with them.
“We have been searching for the runaway JMB operatives also in the bordering areas. Border Guard Bangladesh and the Coastguard have been kept on high alert,” he said.
The latest arrestees are Ruhul Amin, alias Raju, Amin Rahat, Azmir and Jitu.
Raju was arrested from the city’s Badda area yesterday while Amin Rahat, Azmir and Jitu were held from Hatirjheel area Thursday.
The law enforcers also seized 4.5kg explosives, motorbike, training manual and maps from the possession of the detainees.
Police said Rahat and Azmir were garment factory owners. They had been financing the organisation, giving jobs to its members and providing monetary support to the arrestees’ families.
Recently, Azmir bought a garment factory at Tk5.80 crore in Satarkul, police said, adding that Rahat had also a factory at Kalyanpur in the capital.
The outfit also runs hundi and fake note business.
“These garment factories are local source of money for the JMB operatives. We have also found some other sources,” the DB official said.
He claimed that they had detected the whole network and the fled convicts would be arrested soon.
“A section of the old JMB network somehow revived and carried out the snatching. We have broken the network already,” he said.
The investigators found that convicted Rakib used to make plan with some other JMB men who were about to get bail within some days.
As per the plan the men come out of jail and take steps to collect money and arms.
The men behind bars contacted their cohorts over mobile to carry out the attack, said police.
They first thought of the snatching at Gazipur and rented some houses out there eight months back. But as they found it difficult, they changed the plan and set their mission at Bhaluka-Trishal in Mymensingh.
Dhaka range DIG Nuruzzaman, Additional DIG Shafiqul Islam and Additional Deputy Commissioner Sanowar Hossain were present at the press briefing.
