“Neo JMB” leader held

Police yesterday claimed to have arrested a top leader of “Neo JMB” who allegedly supplied bombs for carrying out an attack on the crowd paying homage to Bangabandhu on National Mourning Day at Dhanmondi 32 in the capital last year.

 Mamun, 21, was arrested during a raid in House Building area under sector-7 in the capital's Uttara around 7:30pm on Sunday.

He was hiding in the city possibly to carry out a massive attack, said counterterrorism officials. 

Mamun provided bombs to militant Saiful Islam, who holed up in a Panthapath hotel, which is around half a kilometre off Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, to carry out the attack on August 15. 

The plot was, however, foiled by Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of police. During a drive in the hotel the same day, Saiful blew himself up by exploding two “powerful” bombs.

Mamun, born and brought up in a middle class family, was motivated and then recruited to “Neo-JMB” in August-September, 2016, said CTTC Additional Deputy Commissioner Abdul Mannan.

The outfit's bomb-making expert Sakhawat, an ex-member of a security force, trained him (Mamun) on manufacturing bombs, said CTTC officials. Sakhawat was killed in a drive in Moulvibazar in March last year.

Mamun was involved in making bombs and providing training to its operatives, the officials said, adding that he had become a top leader of the outfit following the killing and arrest of his predecessors in different raids.

Apart from Mamun, four more were earlier arrested for financing the terror attack attempt. Three of them -- Abu Torab Khan, 56; his wife Sadia Hossain Lucy, 46; and their daughter Tajreen Khanam, 29 -- were arrested on November 10 while book importer Tanvir Yeasin Karim was claimed to have been arrested on November 19.