NIA arrests top JMB terrorist from Bengaluru
Jahidul Islam, alias Kausar, who is the mastermind of the Bodhgaya explosion is also a key accused in the Burdwan blast case.
Kolkata: In a major success, the National Investigation Agency arrested a top Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) operative — Mohammed Jahidul Islam, alias Kausar, who is the mastermind of the Bodhgaya explosion and also a key accused in the Burdwan blast — from Bengaluru on Tuesday.
The 38-year-old, also known as Munna, Mizan and Boma Miyan, was caught from Ramanagara. Originally, a Bangladeshi national, he lived at Baburbagh in Burdwan and Bolpur in Birbhum to build the JMB network in 2014.
The NIA had earlier declared a cash reward of Rs 5 lakhs for any information leading to his arrest in wake of the Burdwan blast in October 2014. It traced out Kausar based on the revelations of another arrested JMB operative, Mustafizur Rehman (37), known as Shaheen and Tuhin, who is also from Birbhum.
In a statement the NIA said, “His house was also searched and some electronic devices besides traces of explosives have been recovered during the search. He is the top leader of JMB in India and is wanted in Burdwan blast case and in many other cases in Bangladesh. He is the mastermind in the Bodhgaya case.”
The agency added, “On his directions, Mustafizur Rehman, alias Shahin, who is his close associate, had arranged and assembled all the explosives for the incident.” Kausar was produced before a special NIA court in Bengaluru, which granted the Central agency five days of transit remand for his production before another special NIA court in Patna.
After the Bodhgaya probe, the NIA will bring Kausar to Kolkata where it had already filed a chargesheet in 2015 booking him as absconding in a list of 21 accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and other laws in the Burdwan blast case.
The NIA’s success came close on the heels of arresting two more young JMB operatives — also from West Bengal — in Kerala in connection with the Bodhgaya blast. On August 3, Abdul Karim (19), alias Chhota, and Mustafizur were caught from a labour camp in Malappuram.
While Karim is from Elizabad in Murshidabad, Tuhin is from Birbhum. Next day, they were produced before a special NIA court in Kochi which granted four days’ transit remand for their production at the special NIA court in Patna which later remanded them in 15 days’ NIA custody.