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Bangladesh

Extremism blooms on backing in Rajshahi

2009-07-19

[Bangla Daily Star] The four top leaders of the new JMB splinter Islam O Muslim claim they along with the mainline outfit have "supporters and well-wishers" in the administration in three districts in Rajshahi Division. Senior police officials who interrogated the four till Friday say the militants have patrons in the administration from top to bottom levels. The militants used to get different types of support, especially in legal matters, in Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj and Naogaon where they already have a stronghold, the officials add. "We are looking into the matter since the militants revealed the information," said Nazrul Islam, superintendent of police of Chapainawabganj. The police are now looking for evidence which would substantiate the claims of the militants, the district police boss added. The law enforcers handed over Selim alias Saifullah, military commander of the JMB offshoot, to the court on Friday on completion of five-day and three-day remand by Bholahat and Shibganj police in two cases. Other militant leaders who were taken on remand and interrogated face-to-face with Selim are former JMB Rajshahi regional commander Abdur Rahim alias Shahadat, former JMB military commander Abdul Momin and Abdur Rakib alias Suman. During the face-to-face interrogation held in Chapainawabganj, the four gave important information and said they have yet to fix single leadership as their new offshoot was formed in April. They claim Selim alias Saifullah is the main organiser but they four altogether equally shared the leadership so far. Abdur Rahim alias Shahadat was primarily considered for organisational activities, while Selim was looking after operational affairs. However, a special intelligence team to combat militancy informed that Islam O Muslim has 10 commanders. The militant leaders held three meetings to decide about the launch of the new offshoot. First they held a meeting in Raghunathpur in Nachole and then in Ranihati and Kansat in Shibganj, Chapainawabganj. As the four sat in a meeting in Kansat for the last time in April, they decided to call the new organisation Islam O Muslim. Selim brought in arms from India and they decided to use small weaponry for self-defence as the mainstream had threatened to kill them for "betrayal". The militants claim they were on the JMB hit list as some of them betrayed the mainstream by misappropriating money. Selim took away around Tk 1.5 lakh from the JMB fund, they add. The militant leaders had another aim of reorganising the inactive JMB leaders in the region and collecting small weaponry for their cadres. They collected some 16 small firearms and the police have recovered 14 of them. Senior police officials term the arrest of the four a great relief as the law-enforcement agencies including the Rapid Action Battalion held them at very primary level. The police last month arrested four militants in Chapainawabganj followed by the arrest of another three militants including Shahadat. Later, Rab and BDR jointly arrested Selim in early this month.

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Bangladesh

Internal feud rife in JMB over money, ideology

2009-07-19

A new offshoot of banned Islamist outfit JMB, Islam O Muslim was formed in Chapainawabganj three months ago, following internal feud between present leadership of JMB and some of their members over financial and ideological matters. The new outfit gets strong moral and financial support from Ahle Hadith community in Maldah and Murshidabad districts of West Bengal in India, captured Islam O Muslim leaders told police during interrogation. Former JMB leaders Selim alias Saifullah, Shahadat alias Abdur Rahim and Abdul Mumin were brought in presence of each other under police remand, where they disclosed different facts about formation of the new outfit. They said they arranged a meeting at a mango orchard at Kansat village under Shibganj upazila in Chapainawabganj in April this year. Following two other meetings at bordering Raghunathpur and Ranihati villages in Shibganj upazila where Shahadat, Selim, Abdul Mumin, Rabiul Islam, Abdul Mubin, Ramzan and others were present, the name Islam O Muslim was selected as per proposal by Selim. Shahadat, Selim and others opposed different JMB activities, especially bomb blasts, and opted for using small arms to kill the targeted people. Shahadat took charge as the main organiser of the new outfit to convince and induct active as well as inactive members of JMB in Chapainawabganj, Rajshahi and Naogaon districts, the new outfit leaders told police. Shahadat, Selim and others opposed different JMB activities, especially bomb blasts, and opted for using small arms to kill the targeted people. After swindling Tk 1 lakh taken from JMB for collecting arms and ammunition for the organisation, Selim broke away from the outfit and fled to India several months ago. On return, he started work to form a new outfit and persuaded several JMB members to join it. Islam and Muslim has strongholds in bordering Shibganj, Gomostapur and Bholahat upazilas but they are yet to form a full-fledged committee, police quoted Shahadat as saying. Earlier, police Rab and BDR raided several places and arrested six top leaders of the organisation and seized arms and ammunition from them.However, two of their top leaders Ismail and Ramzan are yet to be netted. Selim, main organiser of Islam and Muslim, has another wife in Murshidabad in India, where he used to take shelter and arrange supply of arms to his cohorts in Bangladesh, sources said. "This new organisation [Islam O Muslim] was born in April this year. But it could not expand much as the main activists have been arrested. We are trying to arrest others," said Nazrul Hossain, superintendent of police in Chapainawabganj. Selim has been sent to a TFI cell in the capital from Chapainawabganj for further interrogation for three days, he said. On Friday, Selim gave confessional statement under Section 164 before the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court in Chapainawabganj, said IO of the case, Sub Inspector Shahin Akond of Sadar Police Station said. I'm guessing, on the basis of no evidence at all, that there's a Pak connection in the JMB upper echelons, possibly with the just-discovered 14-year-old Lashkar-e-Taiba structure, almost certainly with HuJI...

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Bangladesh

Rab nabs 4 JMB men in 3 days

2009-07-16

Rapid Action Battalion arrested four members of the banned Islamist outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh at the city's Rupnagar, Kanchpur in Narayanganj and in Jamalpur during the last three days. The Rab personnel also seized 38 shells of grenades and a large number of books on jihad. A kinder, gentler RAB ... The arrestees are Ehsar members (full timers) Kurri Mohammad Saidur Rahman, 28, and Mohammad Akkas Ali alias Akash, 25, of Muktagachha in Mymensingh, Gayeri Ehsar member (part timer) Mohammad Rokanuzzaman, 24, of Jamalpur and member Mohammad Saidur Miah, 32, of Jamalpur. Rab-1 acting Director Maj Suman Ahmmed said they arrested Saidur Rahman at a house in Kanchpur of Narayanganj Tuesday and following his confessions they arrested Akash at a house in Rupnagar of Mirpur in the capital. Following their painful confessions, Rab arrested Rokanuzzaman and Saidur Miah at a house in Jamalpur Sadar upazila yesterday morning, Maj Suman said. According to Rab officials, they recovered the shells of grenades and books on jihad from the house of Azizul Huq of Chitalia in Jamalpur Sadar upazila. He could not be arrested. Replying to a query, Rab officials said the JMB men were preparing to launch grenade attacks. The major said some of the JMB men have been trying to organise a separate platform--Islam O Muslim--of the militant organisation.

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Bangladesh

Shahadat, Selim call each other chief

2009-07-10

[Bangla Daily Star] The top leaders of banned JMB's splinter Islam O Muslim Abdur Rahim alias Shahadat and Selim alias Saifullah designated each other as the chief of the offshoot organisation during remand, police said yesterday. Police said Shahadat, Selim and two others--Sajedur Rahman alias Hanif and Jalal Uddin--had already given important information but the police now need to put them face to face for interrogation. M Abdul Kuddus Chowdhury, additional superintendent of police in Rajshahi, said, "A face to face interrogation has now become crucial as Shahadat and Selim are pointing at each other as the chief of the new group." At the end of a five-day remand yesterday, Shahadat, Sajedur and Jalal were produced before the third court of judicial magistrate in Rajshahi in the afternoon. Police sought a seven-day fresh remand against them. The court of Asaf-ud-Doula granted only three day's fresh remand, said M Hedayetul Islam, acting court inspector of Rajshahi. Arrested on June 30, they were taken on a five-day remand on July 4 by the Special Branch of police. Meanwhile, the Chapainawabganj police placed Selim before a court seeking a seven-day remand after Rab-5 handed him over to police on Wednesday. The court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Basudev Roy sent Selim to jail custody deciding to hear on the remand prayer by Sunday, said police. However, police had yesterday filed three cases--two for possessing illegal arms and one for attacking on the law enforcers hindering government task--against Selim with the Chapainawabganj Sadar Police Station. Rab-5 and police seized a 9mm pistol, seven local one-shot guns and 20 bullets from Shahadat and Selim's possession. Quoting Shahadat police said, Selim floated the new offshoot Islam O Muslim in a bid to save himself from JMB's wrath. According to Shahadat, Selim as a regional JMB commander of Rajshahi used to handle JMB fund for collecting arms and ammunition. He swindled the JMB mainstream of Tk 1.5 lakh and fled to India several months ago. One and a half months ago, some 10 to 15 militants, including Shahadat and Selim held meetings twice at Gomostapur in Chapainwabganj to discuss the new offshoot, said the police. But they were yet to form a full-fledged committee, said the police quoting Shahadat. In the meetings, they discussed fighting tactics, using small weapons instead of bombs and grenades, and their main goal--reorganising inactive JMB members. Shahadat told police that Selim is the entrepreneur and chief of Islam O Muslim, not him. Shahadat, during his remand, had also mentioned seven forearms that were recovered from Selim's possession. Our Jhenidah correspondent adds: Police yesterday arrested a suspected member of banned Islamist militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) from the town following an arrest warrant. Officer-in-Charge of Kotchandpur Police Station arrested Abdul Matin, 32, from his drug shop at Arabpur around 5:00pm. Police said a Chapainawabganj court issued the arrest warrant against Matin after his name was disclosed by five JMB men accused in a case filed on October 25 last year. Matin, son of Taib Ali, hails from Laxmipur village under Kotchandpur upazila.

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Bangladesh

JMB offshoot leader Selim arrested

2009-07-08

[Bangla Daily Star] A joint team of Rab and BDR yesterday arrested Selim alias Saifullah, second-in-command and military affairs commander of JMB's new offshoot Islam O Muslim, at Belpara in Chapainawabganj. Selim was arrested after an exchange of gunshots with the forces and he sustained a bullet wound in his leg, said Rab sources. "Feets, don't fail me..BANG!...Ouch!" They also recovered a pistol, nine bullets, three bullet shells and two empty magazines from the scene and his possession. No shutter gun, that'll show up around 4 AM when they take him for a "ride". Immediately after the arrest of Islam O Muslim chief Abdur Rahman alias Shahadat, Selim fled to India. An intelligence agency finding out that he was back in Bangladesh informed Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) that he was hiding at his father-in-law's in Belpara, Shibganj. Rab and Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) team surrounded the house of Selim's in-laws around 1:00pm. Selim fired three shots at the team in a bid to avoid arrest and the team retaliated with five shots. Guess they're better shots. In a press conference last night, Director of Rab-5 Lt Col Israt Hossain said, "Selim, expert in light weaponry, used to collect arms for JMB." He said Rab tracked Selim down based on Boma Mizan's confessional statement. Arrested Islam O Muslim chief Abdur Rahim alias Shahadat and two of his associates also confirmed Selim's position in the new offshoot, said Lt Col Israt. Pliers and truncheons will do that. While describing the arrest, Rab officials said Selim used to go to India frequently. He used to provide Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj JMB and its new offshoot with arms. Ah, I sense a late night trip looking for arms caches in his short future. After the execution of JMB top leaders Shaekh Abdur Rahman and Siddiqul Islam Bangla Bhai, JMB leaders were divided over ideological, economical and different other issues. The Rajshahi Rab chief said, "The divided leaders later formed new outfits and were engaged in recruiting fresh members across the country." Shahadat and Selim were trying to reorganise the inactive JMB members across the country under the new banner of Islam O Muslim, sources said. "Join our team, plenty of spots available for advancement due to unexpected vacancies" Meanwhile, police yesterday arrested Nazmul Haque Tuhin, a convicted JMB member as he came out of Rajshahi Central Jail on a High Court bail. "Naz, nice to see you again. Youse coming with us." Tuhin, 34, of Harail in Joypurhat Sadar, was sent to jail after he surrendered before a court on October 12, 2005. He was later convicted in a case filed in connection with the August 17, 2005 serial blasts and sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment by a Rajshahi court. Talking to the press, Tuhin protested his innocence and said he was framed by a businessman who had strong ties with some rogue policemen.

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