8 JMB men charged

Police have pressed charges against eight members of banned militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) for the murder of Japanese national Kunio Hoshi in October last year.

Talking to The Daily Star, Kaunia Police Station Officer-in-charge Abdul Kader Zilani, also the investigation officer of the case, said he submitted the charge sheet to a Rangpur court on July 3.

He, however, declined to make further comments on the matter.

Rangpur Public Prosecutor Abdul Maleque would brief journalists on the matter today, said sources at the Rangpur court.

Three masked assailants on a motorcycle shot dead Kunio Hoshi in Kaunia upazila of Rangpur on October 3 last year.

Police said all the accused in the case were JMB men.

Of them, four suspected militants, including Masud Rana, 33, Khoybar Hossain, 32, Ichhhat Ali, 34, and Abu Syeed, 28, are in Rangpur jail, said police sources. All of them are from Pirgachha upazila of the district.

Police were trying to arrest the other charge-sheeted JMB men, added the sources.

Masud Rana and Ichhhat Ali confessed their involvement in the murder before a Rangpur magistrate in December last year, police claimed.

Police have arrested nine people in the case. 

On July 3, police pressed charges against seven JMB members for the gun attack on Italian national Piero Parolary in Dinajpur on November 18 last year.