Police say NY blast suspect asked wife in Dhaka to read books by hardline Islamic preacher

Police say New York blast suspect Akayed Ullah advised his wife in Dhaka to read books by terror group Ansarullah Bangla Team leader Jasimuddin Rahmani who is now serving a prison term for instigating the killing of a blogger.

Akayed, who hails from Chittagong and grew up in the capital, worked as a driver at a taxicab company first and then as an electrician at a housing firm after moving to the US on a family visa seven years ago.

He detonated a bomb strapped to his body at a subway in one of the busiest commuter hubs of Manhattan, injuring himself and three others on Monday morning.

Police later detained and questioned his wife Jannatul Ferdous, father-in-law Zulfikar Haider and mother-in-law Mahfuza Akter in Dhaka.

After the questioning, Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Counterterrorism and Transnational Crimes or CTTC unit organised a media briefing.

CTTC chief Monirul Islam said Akayed last visited Bangladesh in September during the birth of his child. 

“They said he spent most of his time with his wife and son during his stay in Bangladesh. He advised his wife to read Jasimuddin Rahmani’s books regularly,” Monirul said. 

“But no book by Rahmani was found in the house,” he added.

Ansarullah Bangla Team or ABT’s name first came up in the investigation into the murder of blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider in 2013.

Investigations revealed that seven students of North South University were inspired by sermons delivered by Rahmani and killed the blogger.

Jasimuddin Rahmani. File Photo

The High Court in April this year upheld a five-year jail term for the banned militant group’s chief Rahmani for inciting the murder of Rajib.

A person close to Akayed’s family at Brooklyn in New York told bdnews24.com that Akayed lived with his parents and two siblings.

The person also said Akayed had been involved with Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student front of Jamaat-e-Islami, but was not seen in activities of the groups backed by the organisation in the US.         

He carried out the attack after being inspired by Middle East-based radical group Islamic State, the US media reported citing police and officials.

Monirul said they could not confirm Akayed’s political affiliation.

“After hearing the statements of his wife and in-laws, we believe he was radicalised in the US through the internet,” the police officer said.   

He added that police gathered information on Akayed’s acquaintances in Dhaka but found no one of them has been radicalised.