Cops raid Nafis' Dhaka residence | Bangladesh | bdnews24.com
Cops raid Nafis' Dhaka residence
Thu, Oct 18th, 2012 5:25 pm BdST
Dhaka, Oct 18 (bdnews24.com) Sleuths of the police's Detective Branch on Thursday raided the Dhaka residence of Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis, who has been arrested in the United States for allegedly attempting to blow up the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
"His family lives at 107/4, North Jatrabari residence. His father Quazi Mohammad Ahsanullah is a Vice President of the National Bank," Deputy Police Commissioner (Detective Branch) Monirul Islam told bdnews24.com.
He added that Nafis was a student of the North South University and before that studied in the Dhaka College. The police official added that he also had a sister.
The 21-year-old Nafis was arrested by the New York Police Department (NYPD) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for allegedly attempting to blow up the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
The bomb charge
The US Department of Justice said in a statement on Wednesday following the arrest that he had been charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to provide material support to al Qaeda. He faces life sentence in prison if convicted.
The FBI said on Wednesday morning (evening in Bangladesh), Nafis parked a van laden with 'explosives' in front of the bank in Manhattan and went to the adjacent Millennium Hilton Hotel. From there, he repeatedly tried to set off the mobile phone detonator of the 1000-pound bomb. However, it did not explode as the explosive was fake.
The NYPD said that Nafis was led on by an undercover FBI agent into their trap. He was under surveillance since July after he tried to search out reliable associates to carry out the attack on behalf of al Qaeda.
According to the complaint filed in Brooklyn Federal Court, Nafis travelled to the United States in January 2012 on a student visa.
Once in New York, he claimed to be in contact with al Qaeda members overseas, although federal agents found no evidence that he was working for al Qaeda or that he was directed by the organisation, according to Reuters, who quoted a US official seeking anonymity.
The complaint also said that Nafis planned to create an anarchy that could upset the US economy. He initially planned to kill a high-ranking government official, whom the US official identified as President Barack Obama. Later, he changed the plan and targeted the Reserve Bank, New York Stock Exchange and the US Military base in Baltimore.
To create a cell to help him carry out the bombing, Nafis began to seek out recruits, eventually bringing on board an undercover agent working for the FBI. The infiltrator supplied him with the fake explosives to ensure that the bomb did not go off and catch Nafis red-handed.
White House Spokesman Jay Carney said President Barack Obama had been briefed about the arrest.
"Attempting to destroy a landmark building and kill or maim untold numbers of innocent bystanders is about as serious as the imagination can conjure," said Mary Galligan, FBI Acting Assistant Director-in-charge. "The defendant faces appropriately severe consequences."
Bangladesh's Ambassador in Washington Akramul Quader and UN Resident Representative A K Momen said that they had found out that Nafis lived in the 'Jamaica' suburb of New York, which housed mostly Bangladeshis. They are trying to find out more details.
Discomfort for expats in US
Meanwhile, his arrest has created more discomfort for the Bangladeshis living in the US. After the 1/11 attack in 2011, US citizens with origin in Bangladesh, said to be a 'moderate Muslim country', have been under surveillance.
Later, Bangladeshis Ehsanul Islam Sadequi and Mosharraf Hossain were jailed for plotting two attacks in Georgia.
The story of Nafis has been the top news in the US media since his arrest on Wednesday, increasing concern of Bangladeshis in the US.
International terrorist networks were still engaged in plots to launch attacks in the US, Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Peter T King of Seaford, who is currently serving his 10th term in the US House of Representatives, told reporters after Nafis' arrest.
Confusion about Nafis' roots
Ambassador Quader told bdnews24.com, "Bangladesh's name is everywhere in the media now. We've communicated with the State Department to get the name of the arrested youth's father and his address. We also want to know where he was studying."
"At first, we'll have to be sure about his citizenship. He may not be a Bangladeshi despite carrying a Bangladeshi passport. Rohingyas are also collecting Bangladeshi passports," he added.
UN Resident Representative Momen told bdnews24.com, "Even if Nafis is a Bangladeshi, it is a separate story. The people and the government of Bangladesh do not believe in terrorism."
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