Sagar Biswas :The detectives have arrested four operatives of Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh [JMB], including head of its women wing Fatima Akhter 25, conducting a raid at Sadarghat area in the city on Saturday late night. Three other arrestees were identified as Abdullah Kazi, Md Ishrat Ali Sheikh and Md Shawkat Sardar. The security officials also recovered Jihadi literature, explosives and bomb making materials from their possession. The detectives claimed that Fatima is wife of JMB commander Sheikh Sadiq alias Sheikh Rahmatullah alias Sajid, who is a prime accused in recent blast in India’s Burdwan town. The investigators also said they have obtained some important information about JMB operatives while conducting probe into the October 2 Burdwan blast along with the National Investigation Agency [NIA] of India. Earlier on November 8, the West Bengal Police arrested Sajid, the “Chief of the Burdwan module,” on Jessore Road near the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose airport. Sajid, who is originally from Farazikanda of Narayanganj in Bangladesh, had confessed that he had been involved in the blast.”Fatima was with Sajid during the explosions in a house in West Bengal’s Burdwan town. The house was later turned into a factory for making bombs. She was next to her husband when the blast took place,” Monirul Islam, Joint Commissioner, Detective and Criminal Intelligence Division, Dhaka Metropolitan Police [DMP], said at a press briefing on Sunday.He said, “Fatima fled away to Jharkhan, a state in eastern India, after Burdwan blast. Later, she entered Bangladesh being chased by Indian officials. ..Sajid and three others were arrested for dacoity at the BRAC Bank in Gopalganj in 2005. They had been on the run after securing bail in 2011.”Meanwhile, the Intelligence officials said the JMB is recruiting women operatives for carrying out subversive activities in a bid to dodge security surveillance. Apart from Bangladesh, the JMB also recruits women operatives from different districts of West Bengal, India.The JMB also has introduced the concept of ‘couple module’ by engaging male and female pairs to trick security officials. The pairs pose as married couples and live among common people while carrying out subversive activities, the officials said.Detailing the activities of JMB women wing, Monirul Islam said, “Three women trainers including Fatima were engaged in providing training at a madrassa of Shimulia in West Bengal. She was a coordinator of whole tanning programme.” “Usually, the women from poor class of society come to the madrassa. They got food along with religious education. Fatima recruited cleverly women from the batch and used to give them training on firearms. She had taught the female recruits about the use of small weapons. The trainees used to practice target by the air guns,” the detective boss said. “So far as we know, 25 women have got firearms training in that madrassa. Of them, six are Bangladeshi and the rest are Indians. Now all of them are on the run,” he added.Officials said Sujana Begum, who was arrested earlier in West Bengal in connection with the Burdwan blast, is a female operative and a member of the JMB’s ‘couple module’. Her husband [unnamed] is the most wanted man in the list of NIA, they also said.The involvement of JMB’s women operatives first came to the light after the serial bomb blasts in 63 districts across the country on August 17, 2005. The Rapid Action Battalion [RAB] at that time had arrested wives, sisters and daughters of JMB Amir Sheikh Abdur Rahman, Siddiqul Islam alias ‘Bangla Bhai’ and other militants. More than one hundred JMB women have been arrested till date.According to the Indian Media, the NIA Investigators informed the Bangladeshi security officials that the militants Shakil and Hashem used to live with their wives Rajia and Amina near the blast spot at Burdwan. Besides, another militant, Nasirullah, had set up his camp in Beldanga of Murshidabad with his two wives Fatima and Manzila. The NIA in its investigation found the involvement of 13 couples. “The JMB and another militant outfit HuJi have a number of women operatives. The militants mainly use women to make fool the law enforcers as they usually don’t suspect women until they are caught red-handed,” detective chief Monirul Islam said.In another incident, the police have arrested five alleged militants including a Pakistani citizen from Chittagong. They were detained from ‘Hotel Lord’s Inn’ at the port city’s Nasirabad area on Sunday. The arrestees were identified as Mohammad Alam, Abdul Majid, Mohammad Amin, Mohammad Salamat Ullah and Shafi Ullah.”Alam is a Pakistan national. He is a director of Netherlands-based voluntary organisation Global Rohingya Centre. His passport has been confiscated,” Banaj Kumar Majumder, Additional Commissioner [Crime], Chittagong Metropolitan Police [CMP], said yesterday.”Another one Abdul Majid is a Bangladeshi born Saudi national,” he added. NIA officials recently arrested Rohingya Solidarity Organisation member Khalid Mohammad alias Khalid from Hyderabad in connection with the Burdwan blast. Khalid has confessed that he received militant training from Pakistan’s Tehrik-e-Insaf on behalf of Myanmar outfit Tehrek-e-Azadi Arakan, according to NIA.
