Tamim Chy's 'close aide' arrested
Police have arrested “a close aide” of Gulshan café attack “mastermind” Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury in Gazipur's Tongi.
Thirty-year-old Salah Uddin Kamran, a member of “Neo JMB”, was arrested at Tongi Station Road around 8:00pm on Wednesday, said Masudur Rahman, deputy commissioner (media) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
Kamran used to stay with Tamim in different militant hideouts, and police suspected that he left the Narayanganj den hours before Tamim and his two associates were killed in a police raid on August 27.
He was a trusted aide of Tamim, “chief coordinator of Neo JMB”. He used to disseminate Tamim's messages to his accomplices, said a top DMP official.
Besides, Kamran used to maintain close ties with militant Abu Hakim Nayeem, 33, who was killed in the Kalyanpur raid with eight other militants on July 26, the official said.
“During preliminary interrogation, Kamran admitted that he was dedicated to spread the ideology and activities of Neo JMB and had a plan to carry out subversive activities,” said an official of DMP's Counter Terrorism Unit.
Kamran, who is from Tangail's Ghatail, had gone missing since late April this year and since then, he had stopped communicating with his family, the official said.
He moved to Dhaka in May and received training from militant Rakibul Hasan Rigan, who was wounded and arrested during the Kalyanpur raid.
On basis of information from Rigan, police filed a case over the Kalyanpur incident, accusing nine named and some unnamed people.
The named accused are: Tamim, Iqbal, Ripon, Khaled, Mamun, Manik, Jonayed Khan, Badal, Azadul alias Kobiraj.
Kamran used to accompany Tamim whenever he visited the Kalyanpur den to instigate and motivate his accomplices, said law enforcers.
Yesterday, police produced him before a court showing him arrested in the Kalyanpur incident and sought a 10-day remand.
The court granted a six-day remand for him.
Police also said they were investigating to know whether he had any direct involvement in the Gulshan Café attack that left 20 hostages, including 17 foreigners and two police officials, killed on July 1.