‘N’ganj building used for JMB, militant training’

Narayanganj Sadar Model police station OC Asaduzzaman filed the case under the Anti-Terrorism Act on Saturday night, accusing 10 or 11 persons of being involved in militancy. According to the case details, at least four or five militants lived in the flat besides the dead ones, while seven or eight more militants frequently visited it. One of the militants who were killed in the raid was a listed suspect in a case filed with Mirpur police in Dhaka over Kallayanpur militant den. The flat in Paikpara, located on the north side of the building, was rented by two of the trio under the aliases Murad and Ronnie. According to locals and well as police sources, the location of the building was strategically convenient for the militants. Due to different businesses based in the area, Paikpara is well connected, with Dhaka city only 30 minutes away. The relatively lax presence of law enforcement makes the place a haven for criminals and a safe haven for the militants. Militants – members of the NEW JMB and other militant groups – often visited the flat, where the residents, especially Gulshan attack mastermind Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury, helped them with funds, weapons, explosives, training and suggestions. Before they were killed in the raid, the three militants destroyed a number of documents upon realising that they had been surrounded by police, said Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidul Hoque on Saturday. “We could have gotten more information on militant operations if we had been able to arrest the militants alive, or recover the documents before they were destroyed,” said Additional Deputy Commissioner Md Sanwar Hossain, in-charge of police’s bomb disposal unit. “However, we found some papers, memory cards and a broken laptop, so we might be able to extract some information.” Sanwar further said police spent two hours to persuade the militants to surrender. But the militants opted to attack the police, which led to the operation.Building owner remanded for concealing tenant infoA Narayanganj court has placed Nuruddin Dewan, owner of the three-storey building,  on remand for three days for interrogation regarding the militants who rented a flat in his house. Narayanganj Senior Judicial Magistrate Mehedi Hasan passed the order yesterday afternoon after police produced Nuruddin, 60, before the court seeking a seven-day remand. He was shown arrested under Section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for concealing information about the tenants. He was arrested with nine other people on Saturday following the police raid, but the nine others were released later. During primary interrogation, Nuruddin said two of the militants rented the flat using the aliases Murad and Ronnie.