Militants from India, Bangladesh involved Burdwan blast: Investigators

Detectives are certain that militants of both India and Bangladesh have been involved in the Burdwan explosion, a Bangladeshi delegation says after visiting India.

Police’s Assistant Inspector General (AIG) Mahfuzur Rahman told bdnews24.com on Sunday: “There is nothing the two countries should blame each other for.”

“There is no confusion that militants of India and Bangladesh were involved in Burdwan incident,” he added.

The Bangladeshi delegation, led by Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch Joint Secretary Monirul Islam, visited West Bengal recently at the invitation of India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA).

The explosion happened in a house in Khagrhagarh locality of Burdwan in India on Oct 2 this year, leaving two suspected militants killed.

Dhaka and Delhi agreed to work together to combat terrorism after information on Bangladeshi militants’ link to the blast was revealed.

Following the agreement, a four-member NIA delegation led by its Director General Sharad Kumar visited Dhaka and held several rounds of discussion with Bangladeshi detectives.

The two sides agreed on prompt contact and exchange of information to prevent terrorist activities.

Later, the seven-member Bangladesh delegation visited West Bengal from Nov 27 to 29.

AIG Rahman said Sheikh Rahmatullah Sajid who was arrested in West Bengal over Burdwan explosion hailed from Narayanganj where he was known as Masum.

Of the two killed in the incident, Shakil Gazi hailed from Tangail, he added.

“JMB (Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh) militants Salehin, Bomaru Mizan and Tariqul were involved in that incident. However, number of Indian militants was larger (than Bangladesh’s),” he said.

Asked if Bangladeshi detectives could interrogate Sajid, Rahman said: “We can’t do that legally. However, our several questions were sent to Sajid through NIA. NIA officials asked Sajid those questions and made us know the answers.”

He said the Bangladesh delegation sought cooperation from India to catch absconding militants.

NIA officials had handed a list of 11 suspected Indian criminals, who might be hiding in Bangladesh, to the authorities in Dhaka during their visit.

On the other hand, RAB handed a list of 51 Bangladeshis, including 10 militants, to NIA stating that they might be in India.

The RAB list includes JMB members Salahuddin Salehin aka Sunny and Zahidul Islam aka Bomaru Mizan, who were allegedly involved in snatching of a convicted militant from a prison van at Trishal, incumbent chief of the banned outfit Sohel Mahfuz, Anwarul Islam, ‘Sakhawat’ and Abu Sayeed Sheik Hossain.

AIG Rahman said the Bangladesh delegation also held meetings with an inspector general of police and a commissioner during the trip.

He said the home ministry would be informed of the matters discussed during the team’s India visit.