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Hafez Saidur Rahman Hafez Saidur Rahman Jamaatul Mujaheddin Bangladesh Bangladesh 20051225 Link
Saidur Rahman Saidur Rahman Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh Bangladesh 20060302 Link
  Saidur Rahman Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh Bangladesh 20060306 Link
  Saidur Rahman Jamaatul Mujahideen of Bangladesh Bangladesh 20060304 Link

Bangladesh
5 JMB men get 15 years in jail in Jamalpur
2021-02-20
[DhakaTribune] A Jamalpur court has sentenced five active members of the banned Death Eater outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh
The JMB is said to be the youth front of Al Mujahideen, the parent organization that began working toward establishing Bangladesh as an Islamic state in the mid 1990s, which remains obscure and probably defunct today. Other organizations, such as Jama'atul Jihad, JMB, Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI), Hizbut Tawhid, Tawhidi Janata, Islami Jubo Shangha, Islami Shangha, Al Falah A'am Unnayan Shanstha and Shahadat-e al Hiqma are believed to be part of the Al Mujahideen network. The JMB at its peak was reported to contain at least 100,000 members, and an alleged 2,000-man suicide brigade, few of whom actually exploded. JMB allegedly received financial assistance from individual donors in Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Libya. Reports have claimed that funding of JMB by international NGOs like Kuwait based Society of the Revival of Islamic Heritage (RIHS) and Doulatul Kuwait, Saudi Arabia based Al Haramaine Islamic Institute and Rabita Al Alam Al Islami, Qatar Charitable Society and UAE-based Al Fuzaira and Khairul Ansar Al Khairia. The top leadership of JMB was captured in 2005 and hung in 2007, which pretty much shot their bolt.
 (JMB) to 15 years in prison.
Fifteen years? Got it.
District and Sessions Judge Mohammad Zahirul Kabir passed the order on Wednesday.

They were also slapped with a Tk15,000 fine each and would have to be in jail for 18 more months if they failed to pay it.

The convicts are: Kari Saidur Rahman, 40, Akkas Ali, 38, Saidul Miah, 48, Md Rokonuzzaman, 31, and Azizul Haque, 50. All the Death Eaters, except Md Rokonuzzaman who is currently on the run, were present during the pronouncement of the verdict.

Additional PP Advocate Mohammad Khwaja Alam confirmed the matter to Dhaka Tribune.

According to case details, RAB 9 arrested the five faceless myrmidons on August 15, 2009, while they were preparing to carry out sabotage at Azizul Haque's house in Bandho Chithlia village of Jamalpur Sadar upazila.
2009 + 15 = 2024
Iron pipes, glass bottles and a large number of jihadi books were recovered at that time.

Later, RAB DAD M Jahangir Alam filed a case against them. They were sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment following the testimony of nine people in the case.

The case was heard on September 13 of the same year after the charge sheet was filed on August 27, 2009.

Then on March 3, 2013, the case was sent to the Special Judge’s Court.
...after which, apparently nothing happened, and now they’re starting the fifteen year count as of the date sentence was passed.
Link


Bangladesh
Four militants dead, two in custody as Operation Eagle Hunt ends
2017-04-28
[Dhaka Tribune] Law enforcement officials concluded Operation Eagle Hunt on Thursday, after four turbans blew themselves up at the murderous Moslem hideout in Shibnagar village under Shibganj upazila of Chapainawabganj.

Rajshahi Range DIG Khurshid Hossain announced the successful completion of the operation during a press briefing at 6:45pm. He was accompanied by SWAT Deputy Commissioner Proloy Kumar Joarder and Chapainawabganj Police Superintendent Mujahidul Islam.

SWAT resumed the operation at 9:10am on Thursday, with gunfire and kabooms heard from the den almost immediately. Subsequently, a bomb disposal team arrived at the location at 10:30am.

At 1:08pm, law enforcement officials used megaphones to urge murderous Moslem Abu Ali to surrender, in the same manner as his family had done on Wednesday, but there was once again no response.

However,
if you can't say something nice about a person some juicy gossip will go well...
 Sumaiya Begum, suspected to be murderous Moslem Abu’s wife, left the building with a four-year-old girl, Sajida Khatun, at 5:30pm.

According to DIG Khurshid, law enforcement officials shot Sumaiya in the right leg before taking her into custody as they suspected she may have had explosives on her person. Sumaiya was taken to Chapainawabganj Sadar Hospital for treatment, where it was found that she was three months pregnant.

Gunfire and kabooms at the hideout continued until 6:30pm, at which point the operation was concluded and the building handed over to bomb disposal units.

The bodies of the turbans were recovered from the hideout at 8:30pm and taken to Chapainawabganj Sadar Hospital for post mortem examination.

Earlier, at 5:30am on Wednesday, CTTC officials cordoned off the building in Trimohoni, Shibnagar village, suspecting it to be a murderous Moslem hideout.

According to CTTC, police and locals, the owner of the building is Saidur Rahman alias Jentu Biswas. Abu Ali, 30, rented the building in February this year.

Abu, who is originally from Trimohoni in Shibnagar, was a madrasa student. After completing his studies, he took up trade as a spice vendor. During this time, he often conflicted with his parents, Afsar Ali and Fulsana Begum, regarding his overzealous religious ideologies.

Locals said his mother had claimed that Abu moved out of their home after one such disagreement.

They added that Abu rarely interacted with others outside of his set group of eight to ten friends. These men would often be seen praying together and were also in the habit of observing Eid in accordance with Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
Locals also alleged that two of Abu’s associates, Mahfuzur Rahman alias Mohon, 28, and Abdus Salam, 35, were tossed into the calaboose by police on Tuesday night.
Link


Bangladesh
5 killed in raid at Chittagong Neo JMB militant den
2017-03-20
Law enforcers found the body of a child at “Neo JMB” hideout in Sitakunda upazila of Chittagong this evening, raising death toll from the raid by joint forces to five.

Four bodies of suspected militants including a woman were recovered from the hideout in Premtala area earlier in the day, reports our Chittagong correspondent quoting police. The suspected four militants were killed in sporadic gunfight with the joint forces since the morning. Some lawmen were also injured at that time.

Identities of the deceased could not be known immediately.

Meanwhile, 20 members of seven families, who were trapped inside the building during the overnight raid, were taken to safety before the final assault began around 6:00am this morning.

Four hours after the drive, Chittagong range Deputy Inspector General of Police Shafiqul Islam told the media that the drive codenamed “Assault 16” had ended and confirmed the death of four suspected militants.

Later, police found the child’s body lying inside the flat used as the den of the terrorist outfit, said Habibur Rahman, additional superintendent of police in Chittagong. The identity and age of the child could not be known immediately.

‘Neo JMB’

“Neo JMB”, as law enforcers call it, is an offshoot of the banned militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). Its coordinator Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury -- killed along with his two accomplices in an operation at a militant den in Narayanganj on August 27, 2016, -- was thought to be the Gulshan attack mastermind.

The “Neo JMB”, formed by leaders and operatives of mainstream JMB who did not accept the leadership of Saidur Rahman, follows the ideology of Islamic State (IS). Apart from Gulshan attack, the gang ensured ingredients for improvised grenades that were used in all attacks perpetrated by “Neo JMB” in recent years, police said.
Link


Bangladesh
New JMB ‘spiritual leader’ remanded
2017-03-04
[Dhaka Tribune] A Dhaka court has granted a seven-day remand against New JMB’s alleged "spiritual leader" Maulana Abul Kashem in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Satyabrata Shikder passed the order on Friday afternoon when investigation officer CTTC Inspector Jahangir Alam produced him before the court with a 10-day remand plea.

Earlier he was shown tossed in the slammer
Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages!
 in a case at Dhaka’s Mirpur model cop shoppe.

"Maulana Kashem also headed a faction of the original Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh bad boy group," Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Deputy Commissioner (media) Masudur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune.

The New JMB group is affiliated with the international terrorist group Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
 that eyes establishing Shariah Law in the country, and spreading its jihad to Myanmar’s Rakhine State and parts of India.

Maulana Kashem had been working at the Okharabari Madrasa of Dinajpur. CTTC unit officials in October last year said that Maulana Kashem had been under their surveillance.

Most of its leaders including its military and operations chief Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury have been killed in shootouts with the police or arrested after they killed over two dozen people at a Dhaka restaurant on July 1 last year.

The detectives are now looking for eight to ten second-tier leaders of the New JMB, who were involved in at least three dozen attacks since September 2015.

The once-mighty JMB, which was formed in 1998 and banned in 2005, has now split into several small groups due to the detention of its second ameer Maulana Saidur Rahman in 2010 and the execution of five top leaders, including its founder Shayakh Abdur Rahman, in 2007.

Maulana Kashem declared him chief of the unit after the arrest of Maulana Saidur.

Former Majlish-e-Sura member of the JMB and a death-row convict, Salahuddin alias Salehin now heads the old JMB faction. He has remained absconding since February 2014 when JMB members snatched him from a prison van.

Bangladesh-origin Canadian citizen Tamim Chowdhury came to Bangladesh on October 5, 2013 from Syria and tried to form an umbrella group of bad boy outfits.

Tamim later met Maulana Kashem in July 2015 when he helped Tamim to reunite old JMB members.

After the death of Tamim, the operations wing came under the lead of Faridul Islam Akash and later Nurul Islam Marjan, both killed in raids by the police’s CTTC unit.

Another leader of the outfit Musa alias Mainuddin alias Mosiuddin is now leading its operations.

A dozen other top and second-tier leaders of the New JMB group are still absconding. They include Basharuzzaman alias Abul Bashar alias Chocolate, Sohel Mahfuz alias Hatkata Mahfuz, Ripon, Khalid, Junayed Hasan Khan, Iqbal, Manik, Mamun, Azadul Kabiraz and Badal.
Link


Bangladesh
31 ‘IS supporters’ killed in 10 months
2016-09-12
[Dhaka Tribune] Law enforcers have dealt Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh’s new faction a severe body blow over the last ten months, killing leader Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury and 30 of its operatives. Two other identified members of the deadly group have died by their own hands ‐ one in a suicide mission and another to evade arrest.

The dead gunnies were involved in attacks carried out and claimed by the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
 group since October last year.

Militant Md Tarek Aziz alias Musa died in a suicide kaboom on an Ahmadiyya mosque in Baghmara, Rajshahi on December 26.

Md Shamsher Uddin alias Abdul Karim, who rented safe houses for New JMB operatives in Bashundhara, Kallyanpur and Narayanganj, killed himself during a police raid in Dhaka’s Azimpur area on September 10.

Nine of the 31 gunnies belonging to the outfit were killed before the July 1 Gulshan attack and another eight have been killed in raids since August.

The government does not recognise the killed gunnies as IS members because they say the international terrorist group does not have an organizational structure here. Instead, it labels the gunnies as members of New JMB.

After the police operation in Narayanganj that killed New JMB coordinator and Gulshan attack criminal mastermind Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury on August 27, and Tamim’s second-in-command in a Mirpur raid on September 2, Sherlocks identified Maulana Abul Kashem as the group’s spiritual leader.

Detectives say the once-mighty JMB, which was formed in 1998 and banned in 2005, has now split into three small groups due to the detention of its second ameer Maulana Saidur Rahman in 2010 and the execution of five top leaders, including its founder Shayakh Abdur Rahman, in 2007.

Law enforcers are now looking for Kashem ‐ a former leader of the main JMB and former principal of Okhabari Madrasa in Dinajpur, and a dozen other coordinators and top leaders of the New JMB including Nurul Islam Marjan. Detectives claim they have also identified a number of foreign and local financiers and patronisers of the group.

Tamim, 30, a Canadian citizen who came to Bangladesh on October 5, 2013 via Dubai, is believed to have formed the new Death Eater outfit. Tamim is believed to have met Kashem in July last year. During the meeting, Kashem gave Tamim the nom de guerre Abu Bakar al-Hanif.

Dabiq, the IS’s propaganda magazine, published an interview of al-Hanif and referred to him as IS’s chief in Bangladesh.

In the interview, he said attacks were being planned against India and Myanmar where he said Moslems were being persecuted, from their base in Bangladesh. But this process will take time due to the presence of Hindus in Bangladesh, Hanif said.

The group began its operations last year by killing Japanese citizen Hoshi Kunio in Kaunia, Rangpur on October 3, according to the Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit that deals with militancy-related cases.

But according to IS news agency Amaq, the group’s first attack was the killing of Italian citizen and NGO worker Cesare Tavella in Gulshan on September 28. Police recently pressed charges in the case against a number of BNP leaders and activists who allegedly hired gunnies to target and kill an expatriate.

Amaq lists 26 operations carried out until August 23, when a Hindu grocer survived a machete attack in Narsingdi. During this time, the deadliest single attack, which left 23 people including 17 foreigners dead, took place at a Gulshan eatery on July 1.

Other victims of the attacks include non-Sunni and non-Moslem preachers, liberals and law enforcers.

Even though IS did not claim the July 7 attack on police near the Sholakia Eid congregation and another attack on a Hindu college teacher in Madaripur on June 15, Sherlocks believe the same group was behind those attacks.

Some attacks, including Death Eater-style strikes against Christians, Hindus, Shias, two Hindu temples in Dinajpur and grenade attacks on Navy mosques in Chittagong, have not been claimed by any group.
Link


Bangladesh
‘Mahfuz supplied grenades for Gulshan attack’
2016-09-04
[Dhaka Tribune] Investigators have found that explosives expert Sohel Mahfuz alias Hat-kata Mahfuz, a big shot of the main JMB who later became part of the New JMB, was linked to the July 1 attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery at Gulshan

"We have information that Sohel Mahfuz supplied the grenades used by bandidos murderous Moslems in the Gulshan cafe attack," Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit chief Monirul Islam said yesterday.

CT unit sources say Mahfuz was a founding member of the JMB, which was formed in 1998 by former Jamaat leader and Ahle Hadith member Shayakh Abdur Rahman and declared banned in 2005. Abdur Rahman and some of his associates were hanged in 2007.

Mahfuz has expertise in making bombs. His left hand was blown off in a kaboom, but he can use a firearms with the other hand.

He is a relative of Gulshan attack’s operation commander Nurul Islam Marjan. In his student life, Mahfuz was a member of Islami Chhatra Shibir
... the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh...
, the radical student wing of Jamaat and later joined the JMB.

Hailing from Kushtia, Mahfuz declared himself its chief after the arrest of its second ameer Saidur Rahman in 2010 but it triggered conflict within the group. Later Mahfuz went to Burdwan of India and from there tried to raise a new faction of the JMB with the help of Maulana Abul Kashem, who later became its acting chief.

CT unit sources say Mahfuz fled to India and returned home a couple of years ago and started working with the New JMB faction, coordinated by Bangladeshi-born Canadian citizen Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury. He played a key role in supplying arms and bombs for its members.

Detectives could not confirm Mahfuz’s position in the outfit.

Monirul said Marjan was an important leader of the New JMB and a close aide of Tamim.

"More information can be found about the outfit if we can arrest Marjan."

He earlier said that they learnt about eight to nine more people who had been behind the Gulshan terror attack.
Link


Bangladesh
11 to die for killing Jubo Dal activist in Lakshmipur
2016-08-31
[Dhaka Tribune] A Lakshmipur court has sentenced 11 people to death for killing Jubo Dal activist Maulana Babar.

Lakshmipur Additional Session Judge Md Saidur Rahman Gazi gave the verdict on Tuesday afternoon.

The convicted criminals are Alam, Miraz, Monju, Mohi Uddin, Kalam Munshi, Mamun alias Saiful Islam Mamun, Bhutto alias Abdus Shaheed, Moin Uddin, Morshed Alam, Masud and Abdul Bashar.

The court also acquitted four others from the charge.

Lakshmipur Judge Court Assistant Public Prosecutor (APP) Abul Kalam confirmed the matter to the Dhaka Tribune.

Babar was shot and hacked to death by the convicts at Tarakandi village on March 8, 2003.
Justice delayed almost 13.5 years...
Link


Bangladesh
Monirul: Main JMB weakening
2016-08-20
[Dhaka Tribune] Al-Qaeda-inspired JMB, an outlawed Lion of Islam group responsible for carrying out series kabooms in 63 districts on this day in 2005, has lost much of its strength in the recent years, detectives say.

But, the recently-emerged Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) faction has appeared on the scene as a deadlier Lion of Islam group than the mainstream one, founded in 1998 by Shayakh Abdur Rahman.

Law enforcers blame the New JMB members for most of the recent assassination'>assassinations including the Gulshan and Sholakia attacks, while some of the attacks were claimed by another Lion of Islam group Ansarullah Bangla Team. Ansarullah was declared banned in May last year.

The New JMB is believed to be inspired by international terrorist group Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
 and local Ahle Hadith group. It is operated by eight to ten coordinators under the leadership of a yet unidentified spiritual leader from a northern district, detectives say.

Police say they have incarcerated
I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece!
 around 150 New JMB members in the last two years.

The main JMB in June this year issued a statement describing the attacks they have conducted since 1998 and denied having involved in other attacks. It said former majlish-e-sura member Salahuddin alias Salehin alias Sajeeb became their chief after he was snatched from a prison van in February 2014.

In another statement released on July 31, the JMB claimed they had no connection with the Gulshan attack when 23 people mostly foreigners were killed in a restaurant on July 1.

The previous chief, Jamaat-e-Islami
...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores...
 leader Maulana Saidur Rahman, has been in jail since 2010 while its founder was hanged in 2007 along with several other policymakers including Siddiqur Rahman alias Bangla Bhai.

The group was banned on February 23, 2005.

After the August 17 blasts carried out in 511 places, the JMB carried out several suicide kabooms killing at least 33 people before its top leaders were arrested in early 2006. The notorious group came to light by establishing a reign of terror in Rajshahi and NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions...
re in 2004 by killing and torturing dozens of people, in the name of operations against forces of Evil linked to leftist parties and under the patronisation of some BNP-Jamaat leaders, and the attack on Prof Humayun Azad.

Around 160 cases were filed against the JMB leaders and patrons across the country regarding these incidents. But verdicts have been given in only 88 of the cases in the last 11 years.

At least 51 cases are still waiting for disposal in different district courts.

In the 88 cases, 35 bully boyz were given death penalty, and of them, only six have been executed so far. The other cases are pending with the top court. The courts sentenced 131 bully boyz to life-term imprisonment in these cases.

Four out of the 18 cases filed over 33 blasts in Dhaka city on this day in 2005 have been quashed by the courts.

According to the Police Headquarters data, police gave final report in 17 out of 160 cases clearing the accused. The number of people sued in the 143 other cases was 242 but charges were pressed against 1,157 people. Investigators say 960 of the accused have been arrested so far. However,
ars longa, vita brevis...
 the number of bully boyz who secured bail could not be known.

In the recent years, the main JMB members were responsible for several assassination'>assassinations that include Mohammad Shahidullah at Tanore in Rajshahi on May 6, retired sergeant instructor of Kashimpur jail Rustom Hawlader in Gazipur on April 25, Pir Khijir Khan in Badda area of Dhaka on October 5 last year, popular preacher Sheikh Nurul Islam Faruqi in Dhaka on August 27, 2014, and self-proclaimed Pir Lutfar Rahman, his son and four disciples at Gopibagh in Dhaka on December 21, 2013.
Link


Bangladesh
JMB chief's son, 7 others arrested
2015-07-29
[Dhaka Tribune] Leaders and activists of banned murderous Moslem outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh
The JMB is said to be the youth front of Al Mujahideen, the parent organization that began working toward establishing Bangladesh as an Islamic state in the mid 1990s which remains obscure even today. Other organizations, such as Jama'atul Jihad, JMB, Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI), Hizbut Tawhid, Tawhidi Janata, Islami Jubo Shangha, Islami Shangha, Al Falah A'am Unnayan Shanstha and Shahadat-e al Hiqma are believed to be part of the Al Mujahideen network. The JMB at its peak was reported to contain at least 100,000 members, and an alleged 2,000-man suicide brigade, few of whom actually exploded. JMB allegedly received financial assistance from individual donors in Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Libya. Reports have claimed that funding of JMB by international NGOs like Kuwait based Society of the Revival of Islamic Heritage (RIHS) and Doulatul Kuwait, Saudi Arabia based Al Haramaine Islamic Institute and Rabita Al Alam Al Islami, Qatar Charitable Society and UAE-based Al Fuzaira and Khairul Ansar Al Khairia. The top leadership of JMB was captured in 2005 and hung in 2007, which pretty much shot their bolt.
 (JMB) wanted to prove their strength by attacking on prison van to snatch its nabbed
Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit!
 chief Maulana Saidur Rahman, detectives say after the arrest of the group's acting chief.
Link


Bangladesh
'2 runaway JMB leaders in West Bengal now'
2014-03-15
[Dhaka Tribune] The two leaders of the banned Islamist outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) who beat feet from a prison van while being transferred have slipped out of the country immediately through the border in northern region.

Intelligence officials of the Detective Branch of police have said they have reached the suspicion after analysing information gleaned from the tossed in the clink
Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'!
 faceless myrmidons involved with the daring escape of three JMB leaders.

The DB officials also say they have information that the JMB has a strong hold in the West Bengal, India, where the two faceless myrmidons -- Salauddin alias Salehin alias Sajeeb and Zahidul Islam alias "Boma" Mizan -- remain holed up.

Sanowar Hossain, additional deputy commissioner of the DB, yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune: "We suspect that JMB leaders Salehin and Mizan illegally crossed the border as per their plan along with their guide Faruk.

"We have scrutinised some information and clues extracted from the interrogation of JMB activists arrested soon after the incident, and also the laptops, computers and diaries seized from those JMB cadres."

Shafiqul Islam, deputy inspector general (crime) of police, said the faceless myrmidons had used the Mymensingh-Gazipur-Tangail road to reach the North Bengal region.

In reply to a query, he said the investigation into the incident of snatching of three JMB leaders was on but the information they put out could be considered as the conclusion on the escape of the myrmidons.

On February 23, a gang of JMB activists snatched top three JMB leaders Salehin, Mizan and Rakib from Trishal of Mymensingh from a prison van during transport from Kashimpur Jail in Gazipur. The JMB men also killed a police constable.

One of the runaway JMB men, Rakib, was recaptured by police and was killed in a "shootout" with police the next day.

The intelligence officials are now investigating the funding of the outfit. The officials said the JMB had not only link with West Bengal but also with several countries of the Middle East and Europe.

The West Bengal chapter of the JMB developed its base in Murshidabad, Maldah and Nadia districts during the stint of the 18-party alliance government.

JMB leader Sohel Mahfuz is leading the outfit in those districts. Intelligence officials came to learn about it in 2010 after the arrest of JMB leader Saidur Rahman.

JMB founder Abdur Rahman in a statement in 2006 mentioned the West Bengal chapter, saying West Bengal was the 65th branch of the myrmidon outfit.

Sources say that JMB leaders are involved in fake Indian currency business in West Bengal.

The intelligence officials identified two persons who had funded the myrmidons' escape from the prison van in Trishal. They are Mohammad Rahath and Azmir Sharif.

Officials at the Criminal Investigation Department have already tracked down their mobile phones and found several phone calls made to West Bengal and other parts of India.

Ashraful Islam, superintendent of police of a CID special team, said they were investigating the cases with the help of the Rapid Action Battalion and police.

He said they had also got some important clues about the JMB's activities but denied to divulge any of it in the interest of investigation.

Meanwhile,
...back at the mall, Clarissa suddenly spied Mr. Bartlett at the checkout counter. He was buying Grecian Formula!...
 police arrested two more JMB leaders -- Alamin, 25, and Tito, 28 -- from Trishal's Saudkandi area on Thursday for their alleged involvement in snatching the three JMB leaders.

Majedur Rahman, officer-in-charge of the DB in Mymensingh, said detectives from Mymensingh and Dhaka had conducted drives in different places of Bhaluka to arrest the two JMB leaders.

They were now in jug of the DB police in Dhaka, he said.
Link


Bangladesh
25 candidates call it quits on election day
2014-01-06
[Bangla New Age] At least 25 candidates, mostly independent ones, reportedly withdrew from the race in the 10th parliamentary election on Sunday in protest against vote rigging and beating up of their polling agents in several districts including Dhaka, Brahmanbaria, Laxmipur, Sirajganj, Barisal and Jamalpur.

Brahmanbaria 3 constituency's Jatiya Party
...aka Jatiya Front; a political party established by Bangladictator Lieutenant General Hussain Muhammad Ershad in 1986 to lend a veneer of respectability to his rule. Since nobody was amused he was forced to resign by popular demand in 1990. The party remains in existence with about a dozen seats in Bangla's parliament...
-JP candidate M Farid Ahmad had boycotted the election as he was unable to cast his vote.

He alleged that his vote was cast by someone else before he entered the Annada Government High School polling station in Brahmanbaria town at about 11am.

He also described the election as 'selection'.

Meanwhile,
...back at the bunker, his Excellency called the chief of staff and complained that the artillery was keeping him awake...
 New Age Brahmanbaria correspondent said in Brahmanbaria 5 constituency M Mamunur Rashid, candidate of Jatiya Party, also withdrew from the race at noon protesting vote rigging by Awami League candidate Fayzur Rahman's polling agents and supporters who allegedly forced his polling agents to leave 105 polling booths among the 126 booths.

15 individual candidates also withdrew from the race accusing physical attacks and forcible ouster of their polling agents from the poll booths and massive vote rigging by the ruling party activists in different districts including Dhaka, Sirajganj, Jhineidah, Barguna and Narayanganj.

In Dhaka 6 and Dhaka 15 constituencies, independent candidates M Saidur Rahman Shahid and M Ekhlas Uddin Mollah boycotted the election protesting vote rigging and intimidations by ruling party activists.

They also alleged that AL candidates' associates forced their polling agents to leave the polling booths in both the constituencies.

In Sirajganj 5 constituency, independent candidate M Ataur Rahman boycotted the election by arranging a press briefing claiming that, his polling agents were beaten up by the supporters of ruling alliance.

Independent candidates of Jamalpur-2 and Barisal-2 constituencies, M Atikur Rahman and Sabina Akhter also withdrew from the race protesting 'massive vote rigging and fake votes' by the ruling party-backed supporters and polling agents.

Sabina said that it has been proved that no free fair election could be possible under the present AL-led government.

Meanwhile,
...back at the secret hideout, Scarface Al sneeringly put his proposition to little Nell...
 Golam Kibria Tipu, JP candidate for Barisal-3 constituency announced boycotting election at 2:30pm and claimed his voters and polling agents were ousted or barred from performing duties by the WP cadres supported by local AL activists and leaders.

Abul Hossain Shikdar, Barguna-2 independent candidate, announced his withdrawal from election alleging vote rigging, capturing of vote centers, ousting of voters and polling agents by the supporters of AL candidate.

New Age Jhenaidah correspondent reported that only independent candidate of Jhenaidah-1 constituency Nayeb Ali Joarder had withdrawn from the race alleging vote rigging by the ruling party candidate's men.

In Laxmipur 4 constituency, two independent candidates Azad Uddin Chowdhury and AKM Sharif Uddin boycotted the election on Sunday morning alleging that the ruling party candidate's polling agents were involved in vote rigging in 65 poll booths of the constituency.

Both the independent and JP candidates of Narayanganj 1 constituency, M Showkat Ali and M Zoynal Abedin Chowdhury withdrew from contest bringing allegation against AL candidate Golam Dastagir Gazi and his associates of forcibly ousting their polling agents from the polling centers.

Besides, Independent candidate of Munshiganj 2 constituency Mahbub Uddin Ahmed, Patuakhali 1 constituency's independent candidate M Shafiqul Islam, Cox's Bazar 4 JP candidate Taha Yeahia, independent candidate Amirul islam of Noakhali 6 constituency, JSD candidates Afzal Hosain Joki and Sadequl Islam of Manikganj 1 and Lalmonirhaat 1 constituencies and in Sherpur 2 constituencies' independent candidate Badiuzzaman Badsha, in Chittagong 12 constituencies' JP candidate Sirajul Islam, Mymensingh 11 constituency's' independent candidate M Sahadat Islam Chowdhury, Dhaka 5 constituency's' Tarikat Federation candidate Arzu Shah Sayedabadi, Feni 3 constituency's' JP candidate Anwarul Kabir and Jamalpur 1 constituency's' independent candidate Aziz Ahmed Hasan also withdrew from the polls in the protest on similar allegations.

Only 12 out of 41 registered political parties, including the ruling Awami League and its coalition partners, fielded 390 candidates including 109 independent candidates.

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Bangladesh
Train derailed in Bangladesh protests, poll may be delayed
2013-11-28
[Pak Daily Times] Bangladesh opposition supporters derailed a train on Wednesday by ripping up railway tracks in more deadly protests against the timing of an election scheduled for January, as officials said the poll could be postponed.

Less than two days after the election commission fixed January 5 for the vote, bigwigs indicated the date could be pushed back to accommodate demands by opposition parties who are threatening to boycott it.

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies want Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as the Battling Begums..
 to resign to make way for a neutral caretaker government ahead of the elections.

They organised a nationwide blockade of roads, railways and waterways for a second day Wednesday, forcing the closure of offices and businesses throughout the country as well as a halt to public transport.

Dozens of passengers were maimed when a train derailed near the capital Dhaka after opposition supporters tore up sections of the track, as part of the blockade which has now been extended until Thursday night.

Bangladesh Railway director Saidur Rahman said the train tilted after coming off the tracks at Gazipur, a town north of Dhaka, after several sleepers were removed. Passengers suffered mostly minor injuries.

"We have suspended at least 10 train services because of uprooting of rail tracks at several places," Rahman told AFP.

Protesters also attacked and set fire to a train in the western town of Chuadanga.

On Tuesday authorities reported at least 60 attacks on the rail network, with coaches set alight and track torn up.

Twelve people have now been killed in a series of street battles between the opposition and security forces since Monday, with five of them dying on Wednesday. More than a hundred have been injured.

Aware that the legitimacy of any polls shunned by the opposition would be fatally compromised, election commissioners said they were prepared to push back the date.

"If there is consensus among the parties, the election date can be delayed to another date to make sure that all parties can participate in the polls," Md. Shahnawaz, one of the commissioners, told AFP.

The chief commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad, who announced the polling date in a televised address on Monday night, also gave a strong hint of a possible postponement.

"There is scope for everything, if an understanding is reached," he told news hounds late Tuesday.

Shahnawaz pointed out that elections had been rescheduled multiple times in the past to bring everyone on board, including last time round in December 2008.

"In the last polls, the election schedule was changed at least three times," he said.

Hasina has rejected calls for a caretaker administration and instead formed a multi-party interim cabinet last week which is composed of her allies. She asked the BNP to join the cabinet but it refused.

While previous elections have been held under non-partisan interim governments, Hasina scrapped the arrangement in 2011.

Neighbouring India is among those who have looked on with some alarm at the growing political violence in Bangladesh.
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