‘Murad’ faked NID card to rent flats

Faking his identity, “Murad”, the military commander of “Neo JMB” rented two flats about the same time, one in Narayanganj and the other in the capital's Rupnagar, to shelter militants, police officials said.

He introduced himself as Jahangir Alam in the tenant's information forms submitted to the land lords and even made a fake national ID card for that, a top police official said yesterday preferring anonymity.

“A common name Jahangir Alam was found mentioned in the tenant information forms collected from the land lords of Narayanganj and Rupnagar militant dens,” a top police official concerned said.

His “actual” name is Jahidul Islam. His father name is Nurul Islam of Panchthubi village in Comilla Sadar, said Masudur Rahamn, deputy commissioner (Media) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

He said they came to know this after matching his fingerprints with the Election Commission database.

Police sources said in the database, his profession was mentioned as “government service” and his present address was “Ward-6 Mirpur Cantonment” under Pallabi Police Station.

Monirul Islam, chief of the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit of DMP on Friday said Murad was a retired army personnel but he could not say what his rank was in the army.

“Murad”, who police said gave arms training to the Holey Artisan and Sholakia attackers, was killed during a raid in the capital's Rupnagar Friday night. Three policemen were also injured in the incident.

None came to claim his body at Dhaka Medical College mortuary as of filing the report at 12:30am today.

Police are looking for his relatives, especially his wife, to learn more about his militant activities.

According to police, “Murad” and his associate rented the Rupnagar home on July 1 and the Narayanganj flat on July 5.

“Murad” used to frequent the militant hideout at Paikpara in Narayanganj where “Neo JMB” coordinator Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury with his associates Tousif Hossain and Fazle Rabbi were killed during a raid on August 27.

“Murad” used to stay in the Rupnagar flat with his wife and two children. He, however, moved his wife and children a day after the Narayanganj raid.

The flat “Murad” used to live in was well furnished and decorated, police said.

“We have seen in other cases that the militants normally do not use furniture and sleep on the floors in their dens. But the flat was a family residence, with bed and couch,” said Didar Ahmed, additional Commissioner (detectives) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police who visited the flat.

A police official preferring anonymity told The Daily Star that he might have decorated his flat with furniture so that no one suspected him.

Police now suspect that “Murad” was behind renting of other flats that had been used as the militant dens. They suspect that he used to rent homes showing his family and then turned those into militants' dens. 

AUTOPSY

The autopsy on body was conducted at Dhaka Medical College yesterday afternoon.

“Three bullets hit him in the head and six in other parts of the body,” Sohel Mahmud, assistant professor at forensic and medicine department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital, told journalists.

Samples of blood, hair, muscles and urine were also collected from his body, he said.

INJURED IMPROVING

Doctors at Square Hospital conducted the surgery on Officer-in-Charge Syed Shahid Alam and OC (Investigation) Shaheen Fakir of Rupnagar Police Station early yesterday.

They were initially in the intensive care unit of the hospital. As their condition improved, they were moved to the surgery ward around 4:00pm.

Shahid suffered stab wounds in his back, and Shaheen was shot in the thigh.

The third injured policeman, Sub-Inspector Mominur Rahman, is undergoing treatment at Rajarbagh Police Lines Hospital.

HOME MINISTER WARNS MILITANTS

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal yesterday said militants, who still dare to continue with their activities, will have the same fate as their fellows had.

Inspired by the prime minister's call earlier, some militants surrendered but some of them were killed in police encounters, the minister said addressing a programme in the capital.

The very few militants, who were yet to be arrested or had not surrendered, will have to face the bitter consequences, he said.

Terming the Rupnagar raid a successful operation, the minister said the police had tried to arrest “Murad”. As he hacked and opened fire on police, the law enforcement agencies were forced to shoot him dead.

“People of Bangladesh don't tolerate militancy and in Islam there is no room for it,” he added.