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In a major breakthrough, state anti-terrorism officers arrested Sheikh Rahmatullah alias Sajid — chief of the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) terror module in Burdwan — near Kolkata airport around 2.30pm on Saturday.
This is the third arrest in the case in 48 hours. NIA had announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh for information leading to the arrest of 32-year-old Sajid.The reward was the same as that announced for Indian Mujahideen chief Yaseen Bhatkal. The NIA had been trailing him for some time and based on its leads, Bidhannagar anti-terror squad (ATS) and Kolkata Police STF made the arrest on Jessore Road. This will help the Mamata Banerjee government convince the home ministry that Bengal is cooperating with NIA in the Khagragarh blast probe.
According to top NIA sources, Sajid was one of the key leaders in the JMB conspiracy and his arrest will help unravel the outfit's terror designs not only against Bangladesh but also on possible Indian targets. "He is undoubtedly a big catch," a senior NIA officer told TOI.
The slightly built Sajid is from Narayanganj in Bangladesh and is a Majlis-e-Shura member — one of the six central council members — of JMB, say sources. According to an NIA dossier, all JMB cadres in Bengal reported to Sajid. "In the initial stages of questioning, Sajid said that he was looking to create a greater Bangladesh — including the Bengal districts of Murshidabad, Malda and Nadia — that will strictly follow Shariat law," said a source.
Sajid is believed to be the key instructor at Mukimnagar madrassa near Lalgola, Murshidabad. His wife Fatima was the lead instructor of girls at Mukimnagar and Simulia madrassas. She is still on the run.
Sajid was reportedly staying near the Lalgola madrassa just before the blast. Security agencies believe his arrest will unravel the hawala chain that brings funds from Bangladesh to run terror modules here. "Initial investigation reveals that Sajid was about to receive Rs 1 lakh through a courier. This is why he had travelled to North 24-Parganas. We intercepted the courier and got him to ask Sajid to come to Jessore Road. He was arrested as soon as he was spotted. We have informed NIA and Sajid will be handed over to them by Saturday night. NIA will question him further," said Bidhannagar police chief Rajeev Kumar, who earlier headed STF.
Sources said Sajid was jailed for several years in Bangladesh and was closely working with bomb-maker Boma Mizan, who is now reportedly hiding in Bengal. ATS DC R N Banerjee said they seized fake driving licenses and PAN cards from Sajid. "We found four fake identities in the name of Burhan Sheikh with a Nanoor, Birbhum, address. He also used the alias Surat Ali and gave his address as Sahebganj, Jharkhand," said an officer. Both addresses are important — while Birbhum's Kirnahar has been found to be a hotbed of JMB activities, the module reportedly had training centres in Jharkhand.
Interrogation of key JMB operative Zia-ul-Haq, who was arrested by NIA on Friday, corroborates Sajid's claim that their mission was a 'greater Bangladesh', say sources. JMB's strategy is to maintain a low profile while rebuilding the organization before unleashing a Taliban-like military takeover of a district in north west Bangladesh, say NIA sources. The outfit intended to use this as a base to establish Islamic law. "The one quality that the JMB leadership has in abundance is patience," remarked an officer.
Security agencies are worried by the ease with which Sajid entered India in 2003 or even earlier. "A fake voter ID card recovered from him mentions his age as 21 on January 2003. That means the outfit had entered Indian soil well before 2005 when it triggered over 300 blasts in Bangladesh," said an officer.
NIA sources said they have got credible leads from Zia on the movements of at least two other top JMB operatives, including Yousuf Sheikh. Zia has told interrogators that JMB had a "training exchange programme" with the militant Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO), based in the Rohingya refugee camps in southern Bangladesh. JMB has been using the "attacks on Rohingya Muslims" in Myanmar as emotional bait to attract recruits.
Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh module chief held near airport - The Times of India
This is the third arrest in the case in 48 hours. NIA had announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh for information leading to the arrest of 32-year-old Sajid.The reward was the same as that announced for Indian Mujahideen chief Yaseen Bhatkal. The NIA had been trailing him for some time and based on its leads, Bidhannagar anti-terror squad (ATS) and Kolkata Police STF made the arrest on Jessore Road. This will help the Mamata Banerjee government convince the home ministry that Bengal is cooperating with NIA in the Khagragarh blast probe.
According to top NIA sources, Sajid was one of the key leaders in the JMB conspiracy and his arrest will help unravel the outfit's terror designs not only against Bangladesh but also on possible Indian targets. "He is undoubtedly a big catch," a senior NIA officer told TOI.
The slightly built Sajid is from Narayanganj in Bangladesh and is a Majlis-e-Shura member — one of the six central council members — of JMB, say sources. According to an NIA dossier, all JMB cadres in Bengal reported to Sajid. "In the initial stages of questioning, Sajid said that he was looking to create a greater Bangladesh — including the Bengal districts of Murshidabad, Malda and Nadia — that will strictly follow Shariat law," said a source.
Sajid is believed to be the key instructor at Mukimnagar madrassa near Lalgola, Murshidabad. His wife Fatima was the lead instructor of girls at Mukimnagar and Simulia madrassas. She is still on the run.
Sajid was reportedly staying near the Lalgola madrassa just before the blast. Security agencies believe his arrest will unravel the hawala chain that brings funds from Bangladesh to run terror modules here. "Initial investigation reveals that Sajid was about to receive Rs 1 lakh through a courier. This is why he had travelled to North 24-Parganas. We intercepted the courier and got him to ask Sajid to come to Jessore Road. He was arrested as soon as he was spotted. We have informed NIA and Sajid will be handed over to them by Saturday night. NIA will question him further," said Bidhannagar police chief Rajeev Kumar, who earlier headed STF.
Sources said Sajid was jailed for several years in Bangladesh and was closely working with bomb-maker Boma Mizan, who is now reportedly hiding in Bengal. ATS DC R N Banerjee said they seized fake driving licenses and PAN cards from Sajid. "We found four fake identities in the name of Burhan Sheikh with a Nanoor, Birbhum, address. He also used the alias Surat Ali and gave his address as Sahebganj, Jharkhand," said an officer. Both addresses are important — while Birbhum's Kirnahar has been found to be a hotbed of JMB activities, the module reportedly had training centres in Jharkhand.
Interrogation of key JMB operative Zia-ul-Haq, who was arrested by NIA on Friday, corroborates Sajid's claim that their mission was a 'greater Bangladesh', say sources. JMB's strategy is to maintain a low profile while rebuilding the organization before unleashing a Taliban-like military takeover of a district in north west Bangladesh, say NIA sources. The outfit intended to use this as a base to establish Islamic law. "The one quality that the JMB leadership has in abundance is patience," remarked an officer.
Security agencies are worried by the ease with which Sajid entered India in 2003 or even earlier. "A fake voter ID card recovered from him mentions his age as 21 on January 2003. That means the outfit had entered Indian soil well before 2005 when it triggered over 300 blasts in Bangladesh," said an officer.
NIA sources said they have got credible leads from Zia on the movements of at least two other top JMB operatives, including Yousuf Sheikh. Zia has told interrogators that JMB had a "training exchange programme" with the militant Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO), based in the Rohingya refugee camps in southern Bangladesh. JMB has been using the "attacks on Rohingya Muslims" in Myanmar as emotional bait to attract recruits.
Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh module chief held near airport - The Times of India
