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The suspected militant killed during a raid on a house at Mirpur's Rupnagar is a former army officer, who left the job two years ago after returning from Canada.
Published : 04 Sep 2016, 11:31 PM
Police first identified him as 'Murad' alias 'Omar' aka 'Jahangir', but it has emerged that he is Mohammad Jahidul Islam, son of a former police inspector from Comilla.
DMP Deputy Commissioner Masudur Rahman said the law enforcers became certain about his identity after matching his fingerprint on the National ID card.
Police said the former army officer was the second-in-command of 'top Neo-JMB leader' Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury and the military commander of the group.
Officials related to the investigation also suspect that Jahidul had trained the militants who carried out the terror attacks in Gulshan and Sholakia.
Journalists and onlookers gathered in front of a house in Rupnagar after the killing of a suspected militant in a raid on it on Friday.
He went to Canada in 2014 and left the job after returning home, Jahirul said.
"He had said he was not enjoying the job," he added.
Jahirul also claimed the family had no contact with Jahidul for the past four months.
Tamim, an expatriate in Canada, allegedly masterminded the deadly Gulshan cafe siege. He was killed in a raid on a house at Paikparha in Narayanganj on Aug 17.
Police said he had been reorganising Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).
Born in Canada, Tamim hails from Sylhet's Biyanibazar. His grandfather late Abdul Mazid Chowdhury was a member of the Peace Committee, formed to help the Pakistani occupation during the Liberation War.
Jahidul's father Nurul Islam also hails from Sylhet, according to Comilla Superintendent of Police Shah Abid Hossain.
Abid said Jahidul had visited their house in Comilla for the last time seven months ago.
Locals in Comilla said Nurul had told them Jahid had gone to Canada leaving the army.
"But a major named Jahidul Islam retired in July last year," Inter Service Public Relations Directorate (ISPR) Director Lt Col Mohammad Rashidul Hasan said.
He also said the army was not sure about Jahidul's links with militancy and was investigating the matter.
Detective Branch Deputy Commissioner Sanwar Hossain said after the raid in Mirpur on Sunday that the suspect killed in the drive was called 'Major Murad' in his outfit.
He had been in Narayanganj with Tamim and left before the raid that killed the 'Neo-JMB leader', police suspect.
Sanwar said Jahidul and his family left the house in Mirpur's Rupnagar the day after Tamim was killed. Detectives went to the house but returned finding no-one in it.
Police conducted the raid on information of his return on Friday, Sanwar said.
Jahidul was staying in a flat on the top floor of the six-storey building.
His wife's name is Jebunnahar. They have two girls.
Jahidul was commissioned in 2000 after completing the 43rd BMA Long Course, according to media reports.
An official investigating militants said Jahidul had trained militants in Gaibandha's Gobindaganj.
He attacked police during the raid with a pistol and a knife, injuring three.
His father could not be reached on phone.
Comilla Kotwali Police Station OC Abdul Rob said he was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Dhaka for heart disease.
