Neo-JMB's 'emerging leader' Musa rented Ashkona house, police say

The house in the capital’s suburb, where two Islamist militants blew themselves up during a police raid on Saturday, was rented by Mainul Islam Musa, who is tipped to be the ‘emerging’ leader of the Neo-JMB, police say.

Musa’s wife 'Trishna' and their daughter were two of the four people who surrendered to police before they busted the militant hideout at Ashkona, near Uttara model town, on Saturday morning.

"At the time of renting the house, he (Musa) identified himself as a businessman and provided a fake visiting card. The photo he had provided for the renting was also very old," counterterrorism unit's Additional Deputy Commissioner Abdul Mannan told bdnews24.com.

He said Musa rented a flat of the three-storey house, 'Surjavilla', at East Ashkona using the name 'Imtiaz'.

In Saturday’s police operation, two Islamist militants were killed when they refused to surrender and decided to blow themselves up with grenade to avoid capture. One of the militants was a female member of the group.

After the surrender of wife Trishna, the law enforcers gleaned some more information about Musa and are planning to announce reward for information that might lead to his arrest, police sources said.

Earlier, police said they had been looking for the ‘top leader’ of Neo-Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), the group blamed for the July 1 Gulshan cafe attack in which 22 people, mostly foreigners, were killed.

Slain militant leader Jahidul Islam's wife Jebunnahar Shila and her daughter also turned themselves in along with Trishna and her daughter on Saturday. Shila handed a pistol and six bullets to police at the time of surrender.

Militant leader Sumon's wife and slain Neo-JMB leader Tanvir Qaderi's teenaged son blew themselves up.

Militant Iqbal's 4-year-old daughter sustained splinter injuries when Sumon's wife detonated a grenade tied to her body. She is now under treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

A Detective Branch officer told bdnews24.com on Sunday that it was Musa who had collected the firearm for the group.

Musa was getting ready to take over the leadership of the Neo-JMB after the deaths of Gulshan attack mastermind Tamim Chowdhury, Tanvir Qaderi and Jahidul Islam, a number of police counterterrorism officials said.

One official, requesting anonymity, said Musa had stayed with Jahidul, an ex-army major, at a house in Uttara's Sector 13 from early 2015.

According to the detectives, Musa, 28, was born and raised at Raghuparha in Rajshahi's Bagmara and got involved with the JMB movement there.

Bagmara saw the rise of JMB leader Siddiqul Islam alias 'Bangla Bhai' after the BNPand Jamaat-e-Islami’s coalition came to power in 2001. He was hanged in 2007 for the 2005 killing of judges in Jhalakathi.

Musa, now a leader of the group's new incarnation, the Neo-JMB, did his graduation in English in 2011 and Masters in 2012 from Dhaka College, detectives said.

They also said he had joined a school as an English language teacher in Uttara. He married Trishna, a distant cousin, in 2014. She gave birth to a daughter earlier this year.

A DB official said Musa had information beforehand about the plan to attack Gulshan's Holey Artisan Bakery and O’ Kitchen on July 1.

Police raided his village home in Rajshahi two months ago but could not find him.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia said, "He is in Bangladesh and we are trying to arrest him."

Musa and Jahidul's wives and daughters are at the Dhaka Metropolitan DB office while the injured daughter of Iqbal is undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Counterterrorism unit officer Mannan said after the end of formalities, a case under the Anti-Terrorism Act will be initiated over the militant action in Ashkona.