SM Mizanur Rahman :A special squad of Detective Branch of police in an overnight raid busted a militant den and arrested seven people-three identified and four suspected — members of banned Islamic outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) from two apartments in city’s Mirpur area early Thursday.The plainclothes police also recovered huge ammunitions including 21 handmade grenades, bomb-making materials and suicide belts from an apartment of a six-storey building at Block-A of Road-9 of Mirpur Section-1. Later, the handmade grenades were detonated in a nearby abandoned land in phases. However, the DB police did not present the detainees before the media. The detained three identified JMB activists had been living on the sixth floor of the apartment and another four suspects in an adjacent building adjacent as students for four months. They were taken to DB office at Mintoo Road where they are being quizzed till filling of this report on Thursday night. The law enforcers led by additional deputy commissioner Sanowar Hossain launched the crackdown at about 1:00am early on Thursday. During the raid, there were explosions – carried out from both sides. However, police admitted of firing some bullets. Heavy contingent of law enforcers took position in and around the flat. “Out of the seven, three of the arrested were the identified activists of JMB,” Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) told journalists. He said based on information extracted from a JMB activist who was arrested on Wednesday evening that some members of the JMB, staying at an apartment of a six-storey building at Block-A of Road-9 of Mirpur Section-1, are plotting to commit subversive acts. The special squad raided the building and arrested three JMB men from there. Later, they arrested another four suspects from an adjacent apartment.”The members of DB police along with Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), a special team of DB, bomb disposal unit and police from Shah Ali Police Station conducted another drive at an apartment on the top floor of the building,” he said, adding they are using the flat as bomb producing factory.Earlier, the law enforcers evacuated all the inmates from the flat and stormed the room of the apartment of a six-storey building by breaking open the door at about 7:00am and arrested three active JMB members from there. Later, they held four other JMB suspects from the adjacent apartment.As soon as the suspect JMB men sensed the presence of the law enforcers, they exploded several handmade grenades in a bid to flee the scene.”The DB police repeatedly asked inmates of the flat to surrender but there was no response from them. At one stage, they (JMB men) exploded handmade grenades targeting the DB personnel in order to flee the scene. But, none was, however, hurt in the explosions,” Monirul Islam said. The DB joint commissioner also said the recovered grenades were similar to those found unexploded after the Hoseni Dalan blasts and those recovered from Kamrangirchar in the city.Replying to a query about whether any link between the JMB men and Shibir activists, the joint commissioner said most of the arrestees, detained in the last two months, have connection with Shibir. Talking to journalists, inmates of the six-storey building said that the DB police came to their flat at about 1:00am.”We have heard the sounds of several explosion. I have been residing in this apartment for three months. During my stay here almost all inhabitants of the building witnessed the presence of some youths round the clock,” an inmate said.
