'JMB brought in bombs from Burdwan'

Indian investigators probing the Burdwan blast case have found the module of Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh in Burdwan managed to transport six consignments of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) to Bangladesh to be used for terrorist activities in the country. 

Investigators are trying to find out whether the explosives, found in Burdwan, were meant only for Bangladesh or to be used somewhere in India, Indian home ministry sources said yesterday.

They said 25-30 modules of JMB were suspected to be spread out across the country, particularly in West Bengal, Assam and South India.

During the probe, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has found the JMB was trying to set up bases in different locations and recruiting locals, the sources said.

Meanwhile, India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval yesterday visited the Burdwan blast site and had a meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as part of the investigation into the incident. The NIA, which is probing the October 2 explosion, has already found that all accused in the case and their associates are members of Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh.

However, there has been no official confirmation, as of yesterday, from New Delhi on media reports that the JMB was planning to kill Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and BNP chief Khaleda Zia, in efforts to throw Bangladesh in total chaos.

An Indian home ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told our New Delhi correspondent that there was no information as yet about any killing plot. 

After an hour-long meeting Mamata, Indian Home Ministry Special Secretary Prakash Mishra told reporters, "We discussed the issue with the chief minister. The chief minister assured us to extend all cooperation and work together with the Centre to fight terrorism."

Apart from Doval and Mishra, National Security Guard Director General Jayanta Narayan Chowdhury and two senior intelligence officers attended the meeting.

They were later joined by West Bengal Chief Secretary Sanjay Mitra, Home Secretary Basudeb Banerjee, the state's top police officer GMP Reddy and Kolkata Police Commissioner Surajit Kar Purakayastha.

The explosion in a house killed two persons -- Shakil Ahmed and Suvon Mandal alias Subhan -- both allegedly residents of Bangladesh, when they were manufacturing IEDs. One person, Abdul Hakim alias Hassan, was injured and arrested besides three others, including two women.

One of the women is the widow of a suspected terrorist who died in the blast.

The NIA, which specialises in handling terror cases, during a search operation jointly with the Burdwan district police found IEDs from this house.

Mamata had initially resisted a probe into the blast by the NIA, saying the West Bengal police were competent enough for the job.

But she came under fire for her opposition.

The fact that so many top officials of Indian security establishment visited Burdwan and met Mamata showed the anxiety in New Delhi over the rising network of JMB in West Bengal, especially in Murshidabad, Nadia and other districts bordering Bangladesh.

The persons arrested in connection with the blast allegedly told the police about another house where more bomb makers were hiding, a kilometer away from the blast site.

Eight days after the state police searched and sealed the house, the National Investigation Agency found 39 improvised explosive devices in one of its toilets.