Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested three members of the banned Islamist outfit Neo-JMB, including its military wing head and key bomb expert from the capital’s Kafrul area.
Md Asaduzzaman, chief of CTTC unit, disclosed it at a press briefing at DMP media centre on Wednesday.
The arrestees were primarily identified as Jahid Hasan Raju alias Ismail alias Furkan, the key explosives expert, Rumman Hossain alias Fahad alias Abdullah and Saiful Islam Maruf alias Bashira.
Acting on a tip-off, a team of bomb disposal unit of the CTTC raided Kafrul area in the capital Dhaka and detained them.
Asaduzzaman, who is also an additional commissioner of DMP, claimed that Jahid himself went into hiding to avoid arrest.
Jahid was born in a poor family in Patharghata Upazila of Barguna district. He completed his honour's degree from Jahangirnagar University. But he could not finish his master’s degree.
According to the CTTC chief, in 2016, he received an invitation from the militant group. Later, he opened a Facebook ID under the name ‘White Houser Mufti’ and joined the group through the then Ameer Musa.
As a student of chemistry, he gained expertise in bomb making and became the key explosives expert within a very short time. He produced IEDs and remote-controlled bombs and trained other members also.
He had plans to work for a major chemical supply company and subsequently made IEDs, collecting explosives from there.
He was engaged in the incidents of attacks on police and planting bombs in police boxes and was hatching conspiracy to carry out attacks on important government installations and police boxes, by attaching bombs to drones.
The CTTC boss said, Saiful was also a bomb expert who received training from Jahid.
Both Saiful and Maruf took training in Bandarban and recently rented a house in Tongi to raise funds through mugging.
A case was filed with Kafrul Police Station in this connection.