Crosscheck of info given by 'militant Rajib Gandhi' delays Sholakia attack probe

The police have not been able to charge any suspect in court a year into the terror attack on the largest Eid-ul-Fitr congregation in Kishoreganj's Sholakia.

Police say collecting and crosschecking information on the suppliers of arms and money used in the attack and others behind it is delaying the submission of the chargesheet. 

The inquiry now centres on the information given by arrested militant Jahangir Alam alias Rajib Gandhi, one of the 'key masterminds' behind the attack, said Kishoreganj Sadar Police Station Inspector Morshed Zaman, who is heading the investigation.

The terrorists carried out the attack amid tight security a week after the killings of 22 people in the Holey Artisan massacre in Dhaka's Gulshan. 

The law enforcers have blamed the reincarnation of Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh or Neo-JMB for both the attacks. Jahangir is a member of the group, the police say.

On July 7 last year, when people were gathering for the Eid congregation in the morning, a police check post in front of the gate of a school, some 250 metres away from the prayer ground, came under attack around 8:45am.

Two policemen died in the attack carried out with sharp weapons and bombs.

A running gun battle between the law enforcers and the attackers ensued in the area, leaving the devotees panicked.

A stray bullet claimed the life of a housewife, Jharna Rani Bhaumik, at her home.

Maulana Farid Uddin Masud was supposed to lead the prayers like previous years. A madrasa teacher conducted the prayers as Maulana Masud could not reach the prayer ground amid the gunfight.

The police believe Maulana Masud, who is leading a campaign of Islamic scholars against militancy,was the target of the attack.

A suspected attacker was also killed in police retaliation. Large pockets were found on his loosely fitted dress, believed to be made for carrying sharp weapons like machete.

The suspect was later identified as North South University student Abir Rahman, who had been missing for four months before the attack. One of the Gulshan attackers, Nibras Islam, is also from the same university, and had been missing for months like the other attackers.

The police and the Rapid Action Battalion recovered two pistols, three machetes, two rounds of bullet, four magazines, and two axes from the area after the Sholakia attack.

In a CCTV camera footage released by the police, two young men were seen running with pistols, machetes and bomb-like materials in their hands.

After three days of the attack, the police started a case against Shariful Islam alias Shafiul Islam aka Saiful Islam, 19, and Jahidul Haque alias 'Tanim', 24, who were arrested in the area on the day of the attack, and some other unidentified suspects.

Shafiul was killed in a 'gunfight' between the RAB and militants, who the elite unit said tried to snatch away the Sholakia attack suspect on Aug 5. He was being transported to be handed over to the police, the RAB said.

Shafiul, a madrasa student from Dinajpur, was caught with a pistol after the attack. He told the law enforcers that he had come to Kishoreganj ‘on orders from his chieftain to accomplish an assignment’.

Anwar Hossain, the landlord of the house where the Sholakia attackers took shelter, is also behind bars as a suspect.

Jahangir alias Rajib Gandhi, who the police identified as one of the masterminds of the Gulshan cafe attack, was arrested in Tangail on Feb 26 this year. He was later shown arrested in the Sholakia attack case too.

After several rounds of grilling in police custody, Jahangir gave statement at a court on June 2.

Referring to the statement, investigator Zaman said the attack had targeted Maulana Masud. "The militants attacked the police after being challenged at the check post," he said.

According to the police, Jahangir had led all the terror attacks carried out in the northern districts.

Investigating officer Zaman said Jahangir gave 'important information' during remand. 

"He has named the arms suppliers, financiers and many others behind the attack.

"He spoke about his involvement in the killings of Japanese citizen Kunio Hoshi in Rangpur and Italian national Cesare Tavella in Dhaka, and several other terror attacks, including that on the cafe," the police officer said.      

He said the Sholakia and Gulshan attacks were 'planned at the same time'.

"All these things are delaying the decision-making process. That's why the chargesheet is being delayed," he said.

"It is a complex job to identify the others accused in the case following Rajib Gandhi's statement. We are trying to identify and arrest them," he added.

The inspector said it would take 'some more' time to ready the chargesheet after completing these tasks. But he has claimed significant progress in the investigation.