‘Neo-JMB highly active online’
Watching videos online, members of the "military wing" of the banned militant outfit "Neo JMB" learnt to prepare improvised explosive devices (IED).
Later, they placed an IED at a traffic police box in Narayanganj on May 16 upon directives of the outfit chief Mahadi Hasan Jon alias Abu Abbas Al Bangali, who is presently abroad.
But due to a flaw in the remote control, they failed to explode it on that day and left the place.
The above incident came to light after counterterrorism officials claimed to have arrested two members of the group involved in the attack from the capital's Jatrabari area on Sunday.
The arrestees are: Shafiqur Rahman Ridoy alias Baitullah Mehsud alias Captain Khattab and Khalid Hossain Bhuiyan alias Afnan.
They are members of the "military wing" of the group and are experts in producing bombs and IEDs, Md Asaduzzaman, chief of DMP's Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit, told a press briefing at DMP media centre yesterday.
The official said Zahid Hasan alias Boma Zahid alias Raju alias Furkan Bhai, the key explosives expert of Neo JMB, used to give training to the outfit's members online.
It cost them around Tk 6,000 to collect materials for an IED, said officials.
CTTC also recovered 400 grammes of explosives, three cans of butane gas, a set of remote-control devices, four packets of small bearing balls, 10 bulbs, two electric tapes, an IED making manual and a motorcycle used in the attack, he said.
Asaduzzaman said the outfit members are very much active in online platforms but CTTC is aware of their activities and arresting militants before any incident takes place.
On July 11, the bomb disposal unit of CTTC arrested Abdullah Al Mamun, a member of the military wing of Neo JMB, from Araihazar area of Narayanganj, with bombs and bomb-making equipment.
Based on information from Mamun, CTTC arrested the two.
A case was filed against them with Jatrabari Police Station. The arrestees were produced before a Dhaka court yesterday and the court placed them on a five-day remand each.
"Efforts are on to arrest Zahid Hasan," said Asaduzzaman.
Contacted, Rahmatullah Chowdhury, additional deputy commissioner of CTTC unit, told The Daily Star yesterday that the arrestees -- Ridoy, Khalid and Mamun -- used to gather funds for the outfit.
"They bought the motorbike to carry the IED and then planted it in the police box," said Chowdhury, also the in-charge of Bomb Disposal Unit.
"We have got some clues and are now verifying those by interrogating the arrestees," he added.
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