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Published : 31 May 2015, 02:39 PM
Police suspect militant link to Ashulia bank robbery
'Ashulia heist was pulled off to fund Ansarullah'
Mahfuzul Islam Shameem alias Sumon, 32, was arrested in Badda on Saturday night.
“He is a top Ansarullah Bangla Team leader who led the robbery,” Najmul Hasan Firoz, assistant superintendent of Dhaka police’s Savar circle told bdnews24.com.
A band of robbers attacked the Commerce Bank branch at Ashulia on Apr 21. They shot dead the bank’s manager during the daylight robbery.
The robbers also killed some locals who had surrounded them when they tried to flee.
The locals lynched one of the robbers while another died undergoing treatment two days later.
Police said they suspected militants were behind the robbery.
Habibur Rahman, superintendent of Dhaka police, told the media on Sunday that the robbery aimed at “fattening Ansarullah’s fund”.
Bangladesh on May 25 outlawed the extremist group that detectives believe has links with terrorist outfit al-Qaeda.
Rahman said Shameem was the ‘operation commander’ of the robbery.
“Shameem had fled with firearms during a police raid on a JMB training camp in Bogra two years ago,” Rahman said.
“He is also involved in the killing of a bKash agent during the Mar 10 mugging in Gazipur.”
So far, 11 people have been arrested in connection with the incident.
One of the suspects, Al-Amin, had told the court that Shameem had led them that day.
The robbery was executed as per their organisation’s decision, Rahman said.
Shameem has reportedly told police that he was a close associate of JMB leader Salauddin Salehin alias Sunny who escaped after a daring daylight attack on a police van in Mymensingh last year.
He said he had a tussle with Salehin over JMB’s control and ultimately left the militant group with his supporters to join Ansarullah Bangla Team.
