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Tuesday, March 07, 2006

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HEADLINE
 
Militants fire shots, hurl bombs: Two RAB members hurt
JMJB chief Bangla Bhai captured
3/7/2006
 

          Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai, one of the most wanted Islamic terrorist leaders, was arrested along with his wife and five associates from a house at Rampur village in Muktagachha upazila of Mymensingh district Monday morning, report agencies.
Official sources said the chieftain of the vigilante group Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) and the second-in-command of Jama'tul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) was injured as he was captured after an encounter at about 7:15 am.
Two others -- including an officer of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) -- were also injured as the activists of the outlawed Islamic outfit fired shots and set off bombs being hemmed in their hideout, the sources said.
Bangla Bhai was injured in a bomb-blast before his arrest by the RAB the bomb was detonated by the militant themselves.
Following his arrest, he was operated upon at the Mymensingh Medical College Hospital after giving primary medical treatment at Muktagachha Health Complex.
All arrangements to operate upon Bangla Bhai in Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) have been completed, sources said.
Senior officials of the law enforcing agencies visited the DMCH where Bangla Bhai was to brought anytime in the afternoon of the day. Strong contingents of the armed police, RAB and intelligence personnel were deployed in and around the hospital for security reasons. Visitors to the hospital have been restricted.
An unconfirmed source said Bangla Bhai might be shifted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in case his condition deteriorates further.
Taking a tip from the RAB intelligence, a team led by Lt. Col. Gulzar Uddin Ahmed from Dhaka surrounded the house at about 2:44 am where from Bangla Bhai was arrested, according to Director of RAB Media Wing Commodore Mashuk.
The commandos of the anti-crime elite force ordered the dreaded Bhai to surrender, "but his cohorts hurled bombs and opened fire", according to the sources.
Failing to find any way out of the ring, his wife Halima Khatun walked out of the house into the RAB members' capture.
"Just before the arrest of Bangla Bhai," said Commodore Mashuk, "his associates charged a high-explosive bomb."
One of his sidekicks was severely injured in the powerful blast.
The injured RAB intelligence officer was identified as Sergeant Rafiq. He suffered severe wounds on his head.
An airforce helicopter was sent from Dhaka to airlift the injured to the capital city.
Dreaded JMJB commander-in-chief Siddiqul Islam, better known as Bangla Bhai, was hiding in a barn from where he put up resistance before his arrest, security officials said.
They said defying RAB commandos' call for surrender, Bangla Bhai charged bombs and tried to flee, but he and his bodyguard Masud were wounded by splinters during the brief encounter that also injured RAB intelligence officer Sgt. Rafique.
Bangla Bhai and Masud were first brought under the RAB custody to Battala Bazar by a rickshaw van from their hideout at the remote Rampur village at about 10 am. From there they were taken to Mymensingh hospital in an ambulance.
The law-enforcers recovered one sub-machine gun (SMG), one pistol, magazine, three bullets, battery-circuits for making bombs and two 'ram daos' from the ruins of the house that went up in flames following the big-bang explosion.
Thousands of villagers from far and near thronged the tin-shed kutcha house wherein Bangla Bhai used to stay.
House-owner Chan Mia fled before the elite-force RAB, with the back-up support of the police-BDR, tightened the noose around the militants' den.
Sources said Bangla Bhai's wife, Rina, was earlier arrested from a house at Ram Krishna Mission road in Mymensingh town at about 5:00 am on the day. She was taken to Rampur to capture her husband. Another RAB source said Rina was staying with Bangla Bhai.
A large number of inhabitants in Rampur and other villages under Dulla union are members of Ahle Hadith, an Islamic school of thoughts. Local people believe that Bangla Bhai stayed in the village for several months trying to reorganise the militants after a setback following the countrywide simultaneous bombings on August 17 last.
Local people witnessed movements of new faces in the village following the arrest of the top leader of JMB Shaekh Abdur Rahman from Sylhet five days before.
The locals said that Bangla Bhai -- who was carrying a government-declared bounty of Tk 5.0 million (50 lakh) on his head -- used to say his prayers in a Rampur mosque by covering his head and bearded face with a scarf.
Some arms and ammunition were recovered from a cellar of the house from which Bangla Bhai was captured, official sources said.
"Digging the yard, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) personnel recovered the arms and ammunition," said a RAB official.
Two country-made revolvers, six bullets, one bomb, four knives, two 'ram daos' and two rifle bullets stuffed in polybags were hidden under the ground, the sources said.
The burnt mobile phone, used by Bangla Bhai, was also recovered.
Member of the JMB 'Ehsar' -- a key organisational structure -- Imtiaz and his wife Ruma rented an apartment on the first floor of a four-storey building at 164/A/3 Ram Krishna Mission Road from where the spouse of Bangla Bhai was held early Monday.
RAB cordoned off the house in the populous area at about 2:30 am and arrested Bangla Bhai's wife, her two-year-old son and the Imtiaz couple at about 5 am.
The RAB men took them to Rampur village in Muktagaccha upazila and captured Bangla Bhai after a brief but violent encounter.
Imtiaz's wife told the RAB that they rented the house about a year ago. House-owner Sekender Ali lives in Saudi Arabia.
Bangla Bhai's wife also stayed in the house for six-seven months. Law-enforcers found a computer and some CDs in the house. "It appears that furniture in the house was not costly, because their stay over there was to be a temporary one," said one of the police personnel.
Bangla Bhai was operated upon at the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) Hospital at Peelkhana in the city soon after he was brought there at 2:40pm, hospital sources said.
Senior officials of the law enforcing agencies visited the BDR Hospital before Bangla Bhai was brought there.
Doctors at BDR hospital could not be immediately reached for comments but a senior RAB official said that he was apparently out of danger.
"We, however, are yet to know when doctors could declare him fit for interrogation," he said.
RAB director Lieutenant Colonel Guljar Hossain told newsmen that with Bangla Bhai's arrest, five of the Majlish-e-Sura or the top policy-making body of the JMB were now under custody while only two remained fugitive, according to their information.
Bangla Bhai, was once arrested three and a half years ago in the district of Bagerhat.
Police, with the help of people, caught Bangla Bhai and some of his accomplices when they attacked the house of one Tarapad Poddar at Gaola village in Mollahat upazila on August 15, 2002. He was charge-sheeted in one case.
After a three-and-a-half-month confinement in the district jail, he was released on bail and managed to have his name de-listed from the charge-sheet.
Following a directive from the Home Ministry, the case was reinvestigated and a supplementary charge-sheet submitted against Bangla Bhai on February 14 this year.
Police Superintendent of Bagherhat district said Bangla Bhai "motivated and trained up hundreds of youths in the district".
Police have, so far, arrested 20 members of the militant outfit, including five 'ehsars', from Bagerhat.
After the arrest of Bangla Bhai from Mymensingh on Monday, police raided one of his dens at Gaola village.
But, they could neither arrest any of his followers nor recover any arms, ammunition or explosives from there.

 

Anti-clockwise 1. Arrested Bangla Bhai in Muktangacha, 2. RAB members carrying him in a stretcher to the helicopter, 3. Damaged house after bomb blast in which he was hiding and 4. Bangla Bhai being brought to the capital city by a helicopter. — Focus Bangla photos
 
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