Staff Reporter :
Three suspect leaders of banned Islamist militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) were killed in a gunfight at Pallabi in the capital and in Gudagari upazila of Rajshahi early Tuesday.
The deceased were identified as Barek Hossain alias Milu alias Osman, JMB leader of Joypurhat, Sultan Mahmud Rana alias Kamal, JMB leader of Bogra and Jamal Uddin, JMB leader of Chapainawabganj, police said. Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Additional Commissioner and Chief of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit Monirul Islam in a press briefing at DMP media centre yesterday said, “A joint-team of DB and CTTC conducted a drive at Kalshi in city’s Pallabi area around 3:30am that a team of JMB gathered there. Sensing the presence of law enforcers, they blasted a hand bomb at police, prompting them to retaliate and triggering the gunfight.”
Two JMB operatives received bullet injuries and died on the way to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), said Monirul Islam, adding two DB members also received injuries during the operation. Barek is alleged to be linked to the murder of Professor Rezaul Karim of Rajshahi University, while Sultan had link with the attack on a Bogra Shia Mosque, the CTTG chief said.
The bodies have been kept at the morgue of DMCH.
Professor Rezaul Karim, 58, of the RU English Department, was killed by miscreants in the Shalbagan area of Rajshahi city on April 23 last, while the attack on the Shiite mosque left its Muazzin dead in Shibganj Upazila of Bogra on November 26 last year.
Meanwhile, police arrested Jamal from Babu Dyeing area in Sadar Upazila of Chapainawabganj around 11:00 Monday night. “Jamal was killed in a gunfight with police in Foradpur area around 3:00am while police were conducting drive with him in the area to arrest his cohorts,” said SM Abu Farhad, Officer-in-Charge of Godagari Police Station. Active JMB member Jamal was an accused of having involvement in Ahmadiya Mosque blast in Baghmara Upazila of the district, the police official said.
The body was kept at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital Morgue for autopsy.
Farhad said, on December 25 last year, a man was killed in a blast reportedly while he was exploding a bomb in a mosque of Ahmadiya community at Baghmara Upazila during Juma prayers.
