Nerve-racking tests set JMB hallmark

A Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh operative must pass a nerve-racking test of readiness to blow himself up to qualify as a full-time member of the banned Islamist outfit.
The information came out in interrogations of several JMB men including its explosives expert “Boma” Mizan, investigation sources have told The Daily Star.
Before an entrant could go on the simulated mission of detonating himself, he has to undergo sessions designed to motivate him to lay down his life for jihad.
JMB leaders would not introduce a fresher to the simulation until they are convinced he would not harm the organisation even if he should leave it after some time.
The mock test is part of a three-day exclusive training, where the trainees do not know if the mission is for real or not, added the sources.
"To be inducted as a full-timer (Ehsar), operatives have to distance themselves from worldly concerns. They are taught to consider life and family as matters of secondary importance," observes an investigator.
During the simulation, the trainers have bombs strapped around a recruit's body and ask him to walk a few hundred yards. They keep the remote control in their hand.
The trainees are told the bombs tied to their belts may go off any time in the next 30 minutes.
During the three days, they attend classes where the ideologues imbue them with strong motivations for jihad.
Once the theory sessions are over, the trainees go through a stringent regimen of physical exercise. They also learn to operate arms, ammunition and explosives.
On completion of the course, the trainers recommend who among their subjects should be full-timers and who part-timers (Gayeri Ehsar).
The recruits are sent to the JMB veterans to have their military skills honed and resolve strengthened.
Each of them must do a stint as a rickshaw-puller.
"Pulling rickshaws is compulsory for every new member, as the JMB leaders believe it will keep him in touch with the masses and purge him of conceit," said the investigator.
After this, a veteran suggests if the one under him should be chosen for the military wing or for other work.
To pick a person for the organisation, the recruiter builds a rapport with him.
"They usually choose from among the relatives and friends they think are cut out for the outfit," said an investigator.
The recruiters start talking about jihad once the prospective operatives take them into their confidence.
They ask a person to join JMB if they feel sure that he would not hurt the group even if he should decline the dawat (invitation).
"If he accepts the dawat, the party high-ups consider him for the three-day special training," said the sources.
How long it takes to give a target person dawat depends on how quick the designated recruiter motivates him about the cause of jihad.
"A crafty orator usually takes around six months. Sometimes it might take a year depending on the performance of the recruiter and the inclination of his subject," said a source.
Interrogators said they have learnt from the arrested JMB men that there are instances of failure to recruit a person even after nurturing him for a long time.
The detainees however claim they know of no-one dropping out of the training.
JMB introduced suicide terrorism to the country through Jhalakathi blasts that killed two senior assistant judges and wounded three persons on November 14, 2005.
On November 29 that year, 10 people were killed in attacks on courts in Gazipur and Chittagong. Less than two days afterwards, one person died in a blast at Gazipur DC office.
Things became difficult for the JMB activists with the law enforcers cracking down on them after the August 17 serial blasts across the country in 2005.
In the wake of continued drive against militancy, some members of the terrorist group have become inoperative, while some are believed to have divulged organisation secrets to the law enforcers, doing much damage to the militant networks.
Those remaining inactive or reluctant to discharge their responsibilities have been identified as betrayers.
"JMB has a list of over a dozen such members that it believes pose a threat to the organisation and need to be killed," said an interrogator.
Some investigators stress the need for research and efforts to get into the heart of the militant groups to design counter-measures to blunt the efficacy of their campaigns.
Otherwise, they fear, these outfits would keep brainwashing the young minds into joining the extremist movements.