Neo JMB: First operation Hussaini Dalan

Jahid Hasan Rana with two other militants entered the Hussaini Dalan premises at the dead of night. They waited by the pond at the rear of the building for half an hour as the crowd for Tazia procession was yet to be big enough.

At 1:49am, when a large number of people already thronged the Shia centre, Jahid threw five handmade grenades -- one after another -- at those standing in the graveyard on the premises. Four of the bombs exploded.

“Nobody noticed me. Transfixed with horror, people only stared at the spots where the bombs exploded. I completed my assignment hurling the bombs in quick succession,” an investigator quoted Jahid as saying.

The blasts on the Shia congregation, on October 24 last year, left two people killed and over a hundred injured.

The attack was the first strike by “Neo JMB”, an offshoot of the banned militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), investigators said.

It was aimed at creating tensions between Shia and Sunni Muslims, announce the existence of the new group and project Bangladesh as a “militant state” before the international community, they added.

The two sects have been living in Bangladesh for centuries in peace and harmony.

A large number of Sunnis and even non-Muslims participate in the Shia congregation to observe the Holy Ashura, commemorating the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA), grandson of Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH).  

Shias are minorities in Bangladesh with some 10 lakh of them living across the country. They will observe the Holy Ashura today as in every other year -- but this time with fears of recurrence of last year's horror.

The DMP has already taken strict security measures and suggested bringing out Tazia procession in the morning.

Unlike in the previous years, blades, sharp weapons and sticks will not be allowed, while all the Imambaras, the congregation centres, will be under closed-circuit camera surveillance.

People entering the sites will be frisked under a three-layer security arrangement. Once the procession begins, nobody else will be allowed to join it.

LIFE WITH SPLINTERS

Sumi Begum from Kholamora of Keraniganj came to join the congregation with her 12-year-old daughter Sneha and son-in-law Sazzad Hossain Sanju.

Sazzad died in the attack.

Sumi is still living with splinters in her right leg. She often suffers unbearable pain while Sneha has splinters in her abdomen, said Nazrin Akhter, sister-in-law of Sumi.

Sneha, a class-IV student, at times gets traumatised, Nazrin told The Daily Star yesterday.

NEW GROUP ON SCENE

After the blast, the attackers were initially believed to be JMB members but investigators found they were operatives of the offshoot that law enforcers of late began to call “Neo JMB”. 

This group attracted the attention of investigators after it carried out a bank heist in Ashulia Industrial Area on April 21 last year, leaving eight people killed.

After the Hussaini Dalan attack, Jahid and his accomplices melted into the crowd and left the scene undetected. Jahid was in panjabi and jeans, said Deputy Commissioner of Detective Branch (South Division) Mashruqure Rahman Khaled yesterday.

Investigators have found involvement of 13 “Neo JMB” members in the attack and submitted charge sheet against them on April 20.

The charge-sheeted accused are Albani alias Huzza, Abdullah alias Alauddin, Hiron alias Kamal, Masud Rana alias Sumon, Kabir Hossain alias Rashed alias Asif, Abu Sayeed alias Salman, Md Arman alias Monir, Jahid Hasan Rana alias Mushab, Rubel Islam alias Sajib, Chan Mian, Omar Faruq alias Manik, Hafez Ahsanullah Mahmud and Shahjalal Mian.

Of them, Albani, Abdullah and Hiron were killed in “crossfire” involving detectives. The rest are now in jail.

Five of the charge-sheeted accused made confessional statements before the court. They are Masud Rana, Kabir Hossain Rashed, Arman, Jahid and Rubel Islam.

In their confessions, Rana and Arman said the attack was carried out to make their existence known and cause widespread panic. 

The confessional statements given on January 29 also mentioned that the group supported global terror body Islamic State and they attacked the congregation because they did not consider Shias as Muslims.

Soon after the blasts, the US-based SITE Intelligence Group tweeted that Islamic State claimed responsibility for the bomb attacks.

Talking to The Daily Star recently, DC Mashruqure said, “We have completed investigation into such a big militant attack which was internationally significant and which drew huge public attention in a short time.”

Firoz Hossain, an organiser of Hussaini Dalan, yesterday said he believes last year's attack could not strain the Shia-Sunni relations.  

WAIT FOR MINISTRY APPROVAL

Although the charge sheet was submitted around six months ago, trial of the case is yet to start as the home ministry has not yet given its approval.

As per law, the ministry's approval is required to begin the trial in any case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

DB sources said when the investigation officer submitted the charge sheet before the court, he sent a letter to the home ministry via the police headquarters, seeking approval for the trial.

Contacted, Metropolitan Public Prosecutor Abdullah Abu on Monday said the trial will start soon after they get the ministry approval.