'JMB organiser' arrested

Chittagong detectives have detained a suspected organiser of banned militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) over the killing of three people in a blast during a mugging attempt last month. 

The arrestee, Md Minhazul Islam alias Sajil alias Sajib, 24, was among the militants who tried to mug the manager of a private firm in Sadarghat of the port city on September 23 to collect fund for the organisation. 

They hurled a grenade during the operation and the explosion killed manager Satya Gopal and JMB men Robiul and Rafiq, police say.

Acting on a tip off early Friday, Detective Branch personnel from Chittagong Metropolitan Police conducted a drive in Kedarpur of Tangail's Nagpur upazila and nabbed Minhazul.

Around 11:00am yesterday, the detainee was taken to the DB office in the port city. Later, a local court sent him to jail after he made a confessional statement before it in a case filed with Sadarghat Police Station.

Minhazul, who is from Madhyam Sonapara in Chittagong's Mirsarai upazila, joined the militant outfit at the end of last year with the help of his maternal uncle Harunur Rahid alias Rubel alias Saurav. He was trained in using firearms and grenades, according to police.

Later on Friday, police detained another JMB operative named Fuad in connection with the September 23 incident and recovered a microbus used by the militants. 

Babul Akter, additional deputy commissioner of DB, said eight JMB men took part in the mugging attempt. Of them, four carried out the attack while the rest were present there as rescuers.

Besides Minhazul and Fuad, JMB's local commander Fardin and members Pias, Habib and Kalaiya alias Matu were in the group.

Fardin and Fuad were fleeing to the capital from Chittagong by the microbus after the incident. After it broke down, they took the vehicle to a garage in Padua Bazar in Comilla and left, said ADC Babul Akter.

Fuad was caught in Chittagong around 2:00pm on Friday but Fardin remained outside the reach of police.

Based on information gleaned from Fuad, police seized the microbus from the garage.

On October 5, law enforcers rounded up five JMB men from different areas of Chittagong city and recovered grenades and ammunition.

Of the five, JMB commander (explosives) Taufique-ul-Islam alias Javed alias Rana was killed in a "grenade explosion" in the city's Kuaish area the following day when police took him there during a drive to recover grenades.

Another JMB man, Sujan alias Babu, confessed before a local court on October 7 to involvement in the September 4 killing of a pir (Muslim spiritual leader) in the port city.