A city court on Sunday remanded the alleged mastermind of Burdwan blast case, Sheikh Rahamatullah alias Sajid, to NIA custody until November 20.
Chief Judge of Bankshall Court Md Mumtaz Khan remanded Sajid, a Bangladeshi national who is stated to be a “Chief Commander” of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) terror group, to 12 days custody of NIA after the agency counsel prayed for a 14-day remand to interrogate him.
The NIA counsel submitted that he was involved in conspiring against India and other countries.
Sajid, when asked by the Judge if he had anything to say to the court, said: “I committed crime in Bangladesh, I fled to save myself. I want to stay in India.” He also told the court his name was Sheikh Rahmatullah, alias Shakil, alias Borhan, and that his father’s name was Siddique Ali.
The NIA counsel submitted that Sajid, who was arrested by sleuths of Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate Saturday afternoon from the Airport area of North 24-Parganas district and handed over to the NIA, was the mastermind and kingpin of the terror network.
They submitted that Rs 1 lakh in cash, fake voter identity cards and driving licence were found from his possession and the seized articles were produced before the court.
A senior NIA official said that after the blast on October 2, Sajid had escaped to Jharkhand and stayed there until he ran out of money. He then got in touch with his Bangladeshi contacts and returned to Kolkata to take the money through a “courier”, after which he walked into a trap laid down by the sleuths of Bidhannagar Commissionerate. Bidhannagar Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar had told reporters that they had arrested a person named Sheikh Rahamatullah who is a Bangladeshi and that after interrogation, it was revealed that he is Sajid who is allegedly involved in the Burdwan blast case and is the chief of Burdwan module.
The NIA had declared a cash award of Rs 10 lakh for Sajid’s arrest.
Sajid, a member of JMB, is also a member of Majlis-e-Sura which is the central committee of JMB, according to Kumar.
Source: Indian Express
