28 'grenades' seized, 2 JMB men held

Rab brings arrested JMB operatives and 28 improvised grenades before the media persons at Terry Bazar in Chittagong, where the explosives were recovered yesterday. Photo: STAR

A special team of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) recovered 28 improvised grenades in the port city last evening and held two operatives of JMB who tried to kill BNP chief Khaleda Zia in Comilla on December 23.
The arrestees of the banned Islamist outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) are Masum Bin Abdul Hye alias Abu Saleh, 30, and Khorshed, 40.
Masum claimed to be a member of the JMB killing squad that attempted to kill former prime minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia at a four-party rally in Chandina, Comilla, on December 23.
According to sources, the Rab team around 6:00pm raided a multi-story market at Terry Bazar--a wholesale cloth market in a densely populated area near Anderkilla--and recovered the grenades in two rooms on the third floor of Jahan Bhaban. The members of the elite force also recovered a good number of books and cassettes of the militant organisation.
A Rab special team, comprising members of the intelligence wing of Rab Head Quarters in Dhaka, Rab-7 and Rab-11, held JMB operative Masum at Begumganj in Noakhali in the morning, Rab-7 Commanding Officer Lt Col Zahidur Rahim told The Daily Star yesterday evening.
Masum was arrested following confessions made by the two JMB operatives held near Chandina on December 23.
"Acting on Masum's confessional statement we recovered the grenades and arrested Masum's associate Khorshed in the evening," said Zahidur.
Talking to journalists in presence of Rab officials at Terry Bazar, Masum said JMB formed a seven-member squad to kill Khaleda. He said he was a member of the squad and had training for such operations.
The plan to kill Khaleda was abandoned as he and another JMB operative had a feud which created division in the squad, claimed Masum.
Masum said he became a member of JMB after he met JMB operatives Asad, Habib and Sohag when he was earning his living selling syrupy drinks (Sarbat) at Anderkilla intersection.
He became acquainted with other members of the organisation at "Dawati Baithak" (invitational meeting) that was usually held after prayers at Anderkilla mosque, he said.
He said Khorshed was recruited through the Dawati Baithak.
Masum said on December 13 Asad gave him the hand-made grenades in a box to keep in his custody.
On December 22, he took the grenades to a village near Chandina where he, Asad and Habib stayed in a house and had training on how to hurl grenades.
After the cancellation of the attack, he brought the grenades back to Chittagong and kept those in his room at Terry Bazar before going to his village home from which he was arrested yesterday.
On December 23, Rab recovered three improvised hand grenades from Nabiabad village in Devidwar upazila of Comilla, around an hour after BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia addressed an election rally four km away in Chandina upazila headquarters.
Rab arrested two operatives of JMB, and seized a 10kg bomb from a JMB den at Nabiabad village.