Raihan Kabir, one of the nine JMB members killed in a raid at Kallyanpur on Tuesday, had trained the youths who attacked a Gulshan restaurant on July 1, police said yesterday.
Raihan alias Tareq of Pirgachha upazila in Rangpur had remained missing for a year. “He was a trainer of the Gulshan attackers. Another Abdullah was the spiritual leader of the nine-member gang,” DMP’s Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crimes (CTTC) unit chief Monirul Islam said.
Raihan acted as a trainer and guide for the group. “Police had information about him. We know him as a Tareq. He was working as a JMB commander for Dhaka area,” the official added.
Earlier, the investigators found that Raihan had trained the militants at Sadullahpur of Gaibandha. “He was the one accused in the murder of police constable Mukul Hossain at Ashulia,” Monirul said.
Until last night, eight of the suspected JMB members were identified by the law enforcers. An associate was caught during the drive on Monday night while another managed to flee.
Mirpur police on Wednesday night filed a case against 10 named and some unnamed persons regarding the raid under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2009. A Dhaka court gave the investigation officer time until September 19 to submit report in the case.
Even though all the militants had been found wearing black uniforms and had flags of the Islamic State group inside the flat, the police labelled them as members of Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and claimed that the JMB had been behind the series of targeted killings.
After the Gulshan attack, police busted at least two militant hideouts in Bashundhara and west Shewrapara areas of Dhaka.
Meanwhile, the CTTC investigators have retrieved some photographs of the Kallyanpur militants wearing IS uniforms from two pen drives found inside the flat after the operation. But it could not be ascertained immediately when the photos had been taken.
Investigators suspect that they had taken the photos to send those to IS’ Amaq agency before carrying out an operation in Dhaka.
Saiful Islam, acting deputy commissioner of the CTTC unit, told the Dhaka Tribune that they had recovered several laptops and other electronic devices from the spot. “We have also got some images and clues, and are now scrutinising the information,” he added.
According to the police, Abdullah passed Dawra from a Qawmi madrasa and later completed Aleem examination from an Aliyah Madrasa. He used to motivate the other members of the gang reciting from the Qur’an and the Hadiths.
In response to a question, Monirul Islam claimed that the Kallyanpur and Gulshan militants had communication with each other.
“We have found information and evidence about their financiers and the instigators. We are trying to arrest them at the shortest possible time,” he added.
After at least five youths stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan diplomatic zone on July 1 and they killed over two dozen guests, IS published the photos of the five and later some photos of the dead bodies. All the attackers wearing black punjabis posed with the same AK 22 rifle before the same IS flag.
Different orientation
The CTTC boss said that three of the nine militants – Md Shazad Rouf Arko, Taj-Ul-Haque Rasik and Akifuzzaman Khan – were students of North South University.
Three others – Abdullah, Abdul Hakim and Md Motier Rahman – were students of different madrasas, he said, adding that Raihan alias Tareq had studied in a madrasa but later worked at a factory.
Our Rangpur correspondent Liakot Ali Badol talked to Raihan’s family and confirmed that he had been involved with Jamaat-Shibir. He came to Dhaka a year ago telling his family that he had got a job in a garments factory.
He was in touch with the family before being killed in the operation and sent them money occasionally.
His mother Rahela Begum and other members of the family members said that they had no idea about Raihan’s involvement with any militant group.
They learnt about Raihan from the news after the raid. His father Shahjahan Kabir has been hiding since then.
Locals say Raihan’s cousin Mehedi Hassan was a leader of the JMB. He has remained missing for the last six years. The village, Tangail Para, is locally known as a JMB den.
Earlier, police arrested the regional JMB commander, Masud Rana, and his associate Ishaq – both from Tangail Para. Raihan had good terms with them, locals said.
The duo have already made confessional statement in three cases involving the murders of Japanese farmer Hoshi Kunio and shrine caretaker Rahmat Ali, and the attempted murder of Bahai Centre Director Ruhul Amin in Rangpur. IS claimed credit for these attacks too.
Apart from Raihan, the seven other militants identified by the DMP are Abdullah, 23, son of Sohrab Ali of Ballabhpur village, Dinajpur; Abdul Hakim Nayeem, 33, son of Nurul Islam of Kuakata village, Patuakhali; Taj-Ul-Haque Rasik, 25, son of Rabiul Haq from Dhaka’s Dhanmondi area; Akifuzzaman Khan, 24, son of Saifuzzaman Khan of Dhaka’s Gulshan area; Shazad Rouf Arko, 24, son of Tawhid Rouf of Bashundhara, Dhaka; Md Motier Rahman, 24, son of Md Nasiruddin Sarder of Omarpur village, Satkhira; and Md Jobayer Hossain, 20, son of Abdul Quaium of Paschim Maijdee village, Noakhali.
Source: Dhaka Tribune