RAB busts JMB den, arrests 5 operatives

The Rapid Action Battalion busted a training camp of the banned Islamist outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh and arrested five operatives, including its ‘second-in-command’ in Chittagong division, in operations in different districts Saturday night through Sunday morning.
RAB’s additional director general, Mizanur Rahman told reporters that its intelligence came to know that the outfit was running a training camp in the remote Shantipur village in Matiranga of Khagrachari district.
JMB operative Delwar Hossain Sajib established the training camp under the guidance of its sura member Shahed alias Osman. He took lease of four acres for the camp in the name of plantation on the directive of JMB amir Sayedur Rahman.
The RAB raided the hideout on Saturday night and arrested the outfit’s Chittagong division ‘second-in-command’ Abdur Rahim, 26, alias Zahid alias Habib alias Saiful alias Saifullah.
On the confessional statement of Rahim, the RAB team arrested the outfit’s ehsar (full-time) member Delwar Hossain alias Sajib 32, and his employee Younus Ali, 20, at Shantipur early Sunday. Delwar owns a poultry farm in the area.
Battalion sources also said that on the statements of the arrested, another team conducted a drive in Signboard area in Gazipur and arrested Delwar Hossain alias Dulal, 23, on Sunday morning.
A third team of the battalion arrested JMB ehsar member Monir Hossain alias Ripon, 25, at Dighirpar in Comilla in the same morning.
The RAB also seized a large number of militancy-related books, grenade components and explosive substances from their possession.
Arrested Abdur Rahim, at the briefing at the RAB headquarters, told newsmen that he along with other JMB operatives had made a futile attempt to attack an election campaign rally of BNP chief Khaleda Zia in Comilla on December 24, 2008.
RAB on that day recovered three improvised hand grenades from Nabiabad village in Devidwar upazila of Comilla, about an hour after Khaleda addressed an election rally four kilometres away at Chandina upazila headquarters.
The RAB men also arrested two operatives of the banned Islamist outfit and seized a 10kg bomb from a JMB den at Nabiabad village.
The BNP chief at a rally in Laxmipur later alleged that the grenades seized had been brought to kill her and disrupt the elections.