'Trainer of Gulshan café attackers' among dead

A police source supplied this photo to The Daily Star saying these five were among the nine militants killed in the operation “Storm 26” in the capital's Kalyanpur early Tuesday. It could not be known when and where the photo was taken. A police official said they found it from a device recovered at the militant den busted during the operation. Photo: Collected

Raihan Kabir, identified by law enforcers yesterday as one of the nine militants killed in early Tuesday's operation at Kalyanpur, had trained the Gulshan cafe gunmen, according to a top DMP official. 

In police file, he is named Tareq, a 22-year-old from Rangpur's Pirgachha, who was already wanted for the murder of a policeman in Ashulia in November last year, said Monirul Islam, DMP's counterterrorism unit chief, in a press briefing yesterday.

"While investigating the attack on Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan, we came to know about two trainers who set up a camp at a char (shoal) in Gaibandha's Sadullapur and trained seven persons. This Tareq was one of the two," he said.

“He trained the Gulshan attackers,” the DMP official told The Daily Star after the briefing, where he said the youth was one of the nine killed in the operation codenamed “Storm 26” at a militant den in Kalyanpur.  

Following the Kalyanpur shootout and the killing of the militants, police on Wednesday filed a case with Mirpur Model Police Station under Anti-Terrorism Act.

The accused are Rakibul Hasan Reagan, a suspected militant now detained by police; Iqbal, Tamim Chowdhury, Ripon, Khalid, Mamun, Manik, Junaid Khan, Badal, Azadul alias Kabiraj.

The case statement doesn't give details about the accused, except for Rakibul.

Those accused frequented the Kalyanpur den and supplied explosives, firearms and ammunition to militants. They also advised and trained the radicals, according to the document.

Investigators believe that a pro-Islamic State group in Bangladesh is led by a Bangladeshi-Canadian named Tamim Chowdhury, who according to the IS mouthpiece Dabiq identifies himself as Shaykh Abu Ibrahim Al-Hanif.

Tamim in an issue of Dabiq claimed that a section of Shibir, the student front Jamaat-e-Islami, is also working for his group in Bangladesh.

However, it could not be confirmed whether he is the one named in the case statement because the document gives no information about that accused.

According to a police source, the Bangladeshi-Canadian could be that accused.  

MILITANT LINK FROM EARLY AGE

Queried, Monirul Islam said they were investigating if apart from the role of a trainer, Raihan had any other link with the café attack.

Raihan was the Dhaka region coordinator of "New JMB". He had been maintaining a close relationship with JMB militants since he was primary-level student at a local madrasa, the official added.

The youth was a muezzin of a mosque in his Tangailpara village under Pirgachha. The mosque was inaugurated in 2002 by notorious JMB leader Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai, said locals.

He served the mosque until 2012. His neighbour and JMB militant Masud Rana took the initiative to build the mosque, they added.  

Masud along with three other neighbours had influenced Raihan to join Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), locals also said.

Masud and the other three -- Ishhat Ali, Liton Mia and Abu Sayeed -- were charge-sheeted accused in two murder cases, including one for the killing of Japanese national Kunio Hoshi in October last year. They are now in Rangpur jail.

Aminul Islam, officer-in charge of Pirgachha Police Station, said links between Raihan and other JMB militants have started to come out.

Youngest among four children of Shahjahan Kabir of Tangailpara, Raihan passed Dakhil (SSC-level) examination from Damur Chakla Dewan Saleh Ahmed Dakhil Madrasa in Pirgachha in 2013, said his family members.

Madrasa Superintendent Gias Uddin confirmed that Raihan was their student. “But,” he added, "We have no idea about his whereabouts after his Dakhil exam in 2013."

Family members say Raihan took admission to Dewti College of Pirgachha for higher secondary education. But he left home in late 2013.

After several months, he came back and told his family that he was working at a garment factory in Dhaka, said his uncle Abdur Rouf, who introduced himself as a retired army man.

"In the last two years, he visited his parents only a few times. But he used to send money to them every month.”

According to Rouf, the last time Raihan visited home was on June 5.

During a visit to his house yesterday, this correspondent found Raihan's mother, Rahela Begum, wailing continuously. Policemen were seen at the house.

"I still can't believe this. My son can't do it," said the mother, a cancer patient.

Raihan's father Shahjahan, a farmer, left home after hearing the news about his son from locals, said the woman.

Abdur Rouf said his brother might have gone into hiding, fearing police harassment.

'NEW JMB'

Militants like Raihan who have founded "New JMB" still consider JMB supremo Saidur Rahman and former chief Abdur Rahman as their leaders, said Monirul Islam. 

Abdur Rahman along with his deputy Bangla Bhai was hanged in 2007 for killing two Jhalakathi judges. And Saidur is behind bars.

During drives in November, December and January, some leaders of “New JMB” were arrested. Some got injured and killed in “gunfight”, he said.

"When their commander of Dhaka region got killed in crossfire, Tareq, to our knowledge, became the commander," Monirul added.

Asked after the briefing if this “New JMB” is led by Bangladeshi expatriate in Canada Tamim Chowdhury, the DMP official said he is the co-ordinator of the group.

While talking to reporters, Monirul said Tamim was never arrested in Bangladesh.

In reply to another query, he said that Tamim is one of the masterminds of recent attacks including the one at the Gulshan café.

THE UNIDENTIFIED 

The bodies of the nine have been kept in Dhaka Medical College morgue.

Police are yet to identify one of them.

The unidentified body was initially thought to be of Sabbirul Haque Chowdhury, son of Azizul Haque Chowdhury of Chittagong.

Azizul went to morgue yesterday and saw the body but he confirmed that it was not his son Sabbirul, who has been missing since February 21, said Nure Alam Mina, superintendent of police, Chittagong.

"Now we're investigating Sabbirul's going missing," said the SP.

GRANDSON OF MONEM KHAN

During yesterday's press briefing, Monirul Islam said Akituzzaman, one of the nine militants, was the grandson of Abdul Monem Khan, governor of erstwhile East Pakistan who was killed by freedom fighters during the Liberation War, 1971.

Akituzzaman was a resident of Gulshan and a student of North South University.