RAB reveals identities of 4 female JMB suspects

The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on Tuesday revealed identities of the arrested four suspected female members of banned militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).

RAB in a press conference said the four are Aklima Rahman, Oishi, Mou, and Meghla.

Among them, Aklima is a student of Manarat International University.

A press release said RAB arrested JMB’s southern region Amir named Mahmudul Hasan from Gazipur on 21 July.

During interrogation, Mahmudul revealed that a team of women is also involved with them. He identified Aklima as one of the members of the team.

Aklima was under intelligence surveillance after she managed Tk 12,000 as Yanat (Token) for the ogranisation during Ramadan.

RAB said there were allegations that Aklima had been trying to instigate militant activities.

A team of RAB-4 arrested Aklima at around 2 am on Tuesday. She has been involved with JMB for the last two years, RAB officials said.

Later, RAB arrested Oishy from Moghbazar after obtaining information from Aklima. RAb also arrested Mou and Meghla from Janata Housing in Mirpur-1 along with a number of Jehadi books, magazines, and soft copies of lecture videos on Jehad.

7-8 more suspects identified over Gulshan attack: Monirul

Police’s counter terrorism unit chief Monirul Islam on Tuesday said the detectives have identified seven to eight more suspects other than Tamim and Marzan over the 1 July Gulshan restaurant attack.

“Their organisational identities have also been found although their details are not known as yet. Information has it that they played various roles in the Gulshan attack. All of them are staying inside the country. The police, however, have not got specific information about their whereabouts,” the police officer told a media briefing at the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) media centre in the capital.
The counter terrorism chief also said the police are yet to trace Marzan who has been suspected to be one of the masterminds of the attack.
In reply to a question over arrests of Bangladesh-origin Canadian Tamim Chowdhury and sacked army major Syed Mohammad Ziaul Haque, who have also been suspected as masterminds of the terrorist attack, Monirul said he knew nothing about whereabouts of them.
Former teacher of North South University Hasnat Reza Karim, a survivor of the attack who remained reportedly missing after he was rescued by joint forces, has been shown arrested in connection with the Gulshan attack. Hasnat are being quizzed in the custody.
“Hasnat Karim’s involvement was suspected after scrutinising his past activities, his involvement with militant organisation, his presence in the place of occurrence, and some pictures,” said Monirul when he was asked how the police reach a conclusion about his involvement in the terrorist attack.
“We have not yet been confirmed about Tahmid Khan’s involvement in the attack. He is now in police remand for the second time,” he added.

3 more bodies of Indian fishers recovered, 6 still missing

Bangladesh Coast Guard (BGB) members recovered the bodies of three more Indian fishermen on Tuesday morning, three days after an Indian fishing trawler capsized in the Bay of Bengal near Hiron point of the Sundarbans.

With this, the bodies of eight fishermen have so far been recovered in connection with the trawler capsize while six others still remained missing, said commander of Coast Guard Mongla West Zone Captain Kazi Mehedi Masud.
He said a team of coastguards pulled out the sunken trawler, ‘FV Moha Gouri’, from near Bangabandhu Char of the bay in the morning. Later, they fished out three more bodies from the trawler, he said.
The bodies will be handed over to Dakope police station of Khulna, Masud said.
Earlier on Sunday, a joint team of Bangladesh Coast Guard and Navy rescued three fishermen and recovered five bodies from the Bay of Bengal after the trawler capsize.
The trawler with 17 fishermen sank in the bay, 30 nautical miles off the Hiron point of Mogla port, on Saturday afternoon.