Liton Haider
Chief Crime Affairs Correspondent
Dhaka, Oct 18 (bdnews24.com)— The police detectives on Thursday raided the Jatrabari residence of Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis, who has been arrested in the United States for allegedly attempting to blow up the New York Federal Reserve Bank, and questioned his family members.
"His family lives at 107/4, North Jatrabari residence. His father Quazi Mohammad Ahsanullah is a Vice President of the National Bank," Deputy Police Commissioner (Detective Branch) Monirul Islam told bdnews24.com immediately after the raid.
He added that Nafis was a student of the North South University and before that, had studied in the Dhaka College. The police official added that he also had a sister.
The 21-year-old Nafis was arrested by the New York Police Department (NYPD) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Detectives later briefed journalists about the grilling at a press conference.
Islam said they were verifying whether Nafis had any links to the militants while he was in Bangladesh.
"His guru will also be traced if it is found he had been a disciple of someone in Bangladesh."
Islam said their drive to find more about Nafis is spontaneous and that they did not get any request from US.
Nafis's father was unwilling to believe what was revealed to him about his son. He believes Nafis was framed. He sought police cooperation in getting in touch with his son to talk about the matters, Islam further said.
Nafis was studying cyber security in America.
The bomb charge
The US Department of Justice said in a statement on Wednesday following the arrest that Nafis had been charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and provide material support to al Qaeda. He faces life sentence in prison if convicted.
The FBI said on Wednesday morning (evening in Bangladesh) Nafis parked a van laden with 'explosives' in front of the bank in Manhattan and went to the adjacent Millennium Hilton Hotel. From there, he repeatedly tried to set off the mobile phone detonator of the 1000-pound bomb. However, it did not explode as the explosives were fake.
The NYPD said that Nafis was led on by an undercover FBI agent into their trap. He was under surveillance since July after he tried to search out reliable associates to carry out the attack on behalf of al Qaeda.
Bangladesh Foreign Ministry said it is working to confirm Nafis's identity with US State Department.
"Bangladesh embassy in Washington has been in contact with the US State Department. We are trying to confirm Nafis's identity. Bangladesh embassy will seek consulate access if it is confirmed that Nafis is a Bangladeshi citizen," said the ministry's Director General (America) Mahfuzur Rahman.
Consulate access means allowing a diplomat from the embassy to meet Nafis in person to talk.
According to the complaint filed in Brooklyn Federal Court, Nafis travelled to the United States in January 2012 on a student visa.
Once in New York, he claimed to be in contact with al Qaeda members overseas, although federal agents found no evidence that he was working for al Qaeda or that he was directed by the organisation, according to Reuters, which quoted an unnamed US official.
The complaint also said that Nafis planned to create an anarchy that could upset the US economy. He initially planned to kill a high-ranking government official, whom the US official identified as President Barack Obama. Later, he changed the plan and targeted the Reserve Bank, New York Stock Exchange and the US Military base in Baltimore.
To create a cell to help him carry out the bombing, Nafis began to seek out recruits, eventually bringing on board an undercover agent working for the FBI. The infiltrator supplied him with the fake explosives to ensure that the bomb did not go off and catch Nafis red-handed.
White House Spokesman Jay Carney said President Obama had been briefed about the arrest.
"Attempting to destroy a landmark building and kill or maim untold numbers of innocent bystanders is about as serious as the imagination can conjure," said Mary Galligan, FBI Acting Assistant Director-in-charge. "The defendant faces appropriately severe consequences."
Bangladesh's Ambassador to Washington Akramul Quader and UN Resident Representative A K Momen said that they had found out that Nafis lived in the 'Jamaica' suburb of New York, which housed mostly Bangladeshis. They are trying to find out more details.
Discomfort for expats in US
His arrest has created more discomfort for the Bangladeshis living in the US. After the 1/11 attack in 2011, US citizens with origins in Bangladesh, viewed as a 'moderate Muslim country', have been under surveillance.
Later, Bangladeshis Ehsanul Islam Sadequi and Mosharraf Hossain were jailed for plotting two attacks in Georgia.
The story of Nafis has been the top news in the US media since his arrest on Wednesday, increasing concern of Bangladeshis in the US.
International terrorist networks were still engaged in plots to launch attacks, the US Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Peter T King of Seaford, who is currently serving his 10th term in the US House of Representatives, told reporters after Nafis' arrest.
Confusion about Nafis' roots
Ambassador Quader told bdnews24.com, "Bangladesh's name is everywhere in the media now. We've communicated with the State Department to get the name of the arrested youth's father and his address. We also want to know where he was studying."
"At first, we'll have to be sure about his citizenship. He may not be a Bangladeshi despite carrying a Bangladeshi passport. Rohingyas are also collecting Bangladeshi passports," he added.
UN Resident Representative Momen told bdnews24.com, "Even if Nafis is a Bangladeshi, it is a separate story. The people and the government of Bangladesh do not believe in terrorism."
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