Holey Artisan Attack Case: Jahangir alias ‘Rajib Gandhi’ gives statement
Jahangir Alam, an accused in the Holey Artisan attack case, yesterday gave his statement before a Dhaka court.
“I joined Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) in 2002. From 2002 to 2014, I worked for JMB in various northern districts,” said Jahangir Alam alias Rajib Gandhi, a recruiter of the banned outfit.
“In 2014, I received guidance from JMB leaders Tamim Chowdhury and Sarwar Jahan Manik. I took charge of the military wing of Islamic State (IS) in the northern part of the country,” he claimed.
“I conducted some operations. Japanese national Hoshi Kunio was killed in one such operation in Rangpur and Hossain Sarder in Kurigram,” he said.
He claimed he performed duties as an IS operative till mid-2016. However, law enforcers deny the existence of IS in Bangladesh.
He said, leaders Major Jahid and Sarwar Jahan Manik trained Shafiqul Islam Uzzal, Rohan Imtiaz Swapon and Khairul Islam Badhon -- killed during the Holey Artisan attack -- in May 2016.
“On May 20, 2016, Tamim Chowdhury and Sarowar Jahan Manik instructed Tousif to make grenades, while Basharuzzaman Chocolate, Naim and Tarek were assigned to provide the bombs and arms in a meeting held at Mirpur zoo,” he said.
“I went to the rented house in Bashundhara residential area with Basharuzzaman where five attackers of the Holey Artisan Café were staying,” he added.
“I was not aware of the Holey Artisan attack plan at the time,” he claimed.
“Police arrested me from Kalyanpur area in Dhaka on July 10, 2016,” Jahangir said.
He told the court he was confined in an unknown place for around six months, till January 2017, after his arrest.
Their top leaders used the “Threema” app for communication, he added.
In his statement, another accused Mizanur Rahman told the court he was innocent. He claimed he was a fish trader. He did not do anything wrong.
During yesterday’s hearing, all eight accused -- now in jail -- claimed to be innocent and demanded justice after Judge Majibur Rahman of the Anti-Terrorism Special Tribunal of Dhaka read out charges from statements of 113 witnesses.
Six other accused submitted written statements to the judge, claiming to be innocent. The tribunal set November 6 for arguments in the case.
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