RAB raid JMB hideout in Uttara, detain 4 with explosives

Rapid Action Battalion have raided a Jamaa'tul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) hideout in Dhaka’s Uttara, detained four members, and recovered a large cache of explosives.

RAB 10 Major Toufiqul Bari said they raided the single-storey tin-shed house in Prembagan area of East Mollartek of Uttara’s Koshaibari, close to the Shahjalal International Airport and RAB headquarters. 

He told bdnews24.com, from the raid site around 3am on Friday that four JMB men - ‘Ziaul’, ‘Razzak’, ‘Mofazzal’ and ‘Hanjala’ - aged around 32-40 years, were detained and 12 Molotov cocktails, 30 crude bombs, a grenade and 60 detonators were recovered. 

The official also said that ‘Ziaul’, ‘Razzak’ and ‘Hanjala’ were mid-level members of the organisation, while Mofazzal was only a member. “They were never arrested before.”

“We will take steps against those detained according to the law,” Bari added. 
 
The raided house belongs to Abdur Rouf, a former Bangladesh Biman official. He lived next door in a similar house with his wife Husne Ara Begum and three children. 
 
Husne Ara Begum told bdnews24.com that the house had been rented last month by one ‘Mamun’, who identified himself as an RMG businessman. 
 
“He promised to pay Tk 7,000 excluding bills and said his wife, who was expecting, would come to Dhaka in April.”
 
She admitted that she had rented out the house without verifying the tenant’s identity, adding that the previous occupant, Mohammad Saiful Islam Mamun, who worked in the RAB headquarters, left a month ago. 
 

“He took the house on rent in January but moved elsewhere with his family after staying for only two months.” 
 
When contacted, Mamun told bdnews24.com, “I used to live in that house. The militants may have rented the house afterwards.”
 
He, however, declined to reveal which RAB department he worked for. 
 
A visit to the site showed that the hideout was a separate building with two rooms. One of the rooms had only a cot while the other room had a green Punjabi and white Pyjama hanging from the wall. 
 
The recovered explosives were displayed on the cot for journalists to see. 
 
The kitchen had a single burner and cooked rice and chicken in two pots. Various spices and ingredients were found on the floor.