3 JMB operatives charged with Mymensingh cinema blasts

Mymensingh, Oct 8 (bdnews24.com) – The police pressed charges Monday against three militants of Islamist outfit Jamaatul Mujahidin, Bangladesh (JMB) for bomb attacks in four cinema halls in the northern town in 2002.

Assistant superintendent of the Detective Branch of police, Mymensingh zone, Rafiqul Islam submitted eight chargesheets in four cases to Mymensingh Cognisance Court No. 1 five years into the attack.

He dropped from the chargesheets the names of 43 accused in the case including Awami League organising secretary Saber Hossain Chowdhury, district AL president Matiur Rahman and former Reuters stringer Enamul Hoque Chowdhury.

The accused in the chargesheets are JMB regional commander Salahuddin alias Salehin of Narayanganj, Jahidul Islam Mizan of Jamalpur and Anwar Hossain, nicknamed Shahid, of Thakurgaon.

Except Salahuddin, two other accused are on the run. Two other militants were not included in the chargesheets as the police could not identify them.

ASP Rafiqul Islam told the court that Salahuddin in his confessional statement to the court said two other persons, Masud and Kamal, had been involved with the bomb attacks. But he could not give detailed address of the two.

The police believed that their names were not real and that they were from Bashail or Ghatail area in Tangail, the court heard.

A string of closely-timed bombs exploded at Ajanta, Chhayabani, Aloka and Purabi cinemas on the evening of December 7, 2000, a day after the Eid-ul-Fitr, killing 17 people including women and children and wounding another 37.

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