Money came from Dubai thru' hundi

A portion of the fund for the deadly Gulshan and Sholakia attacks in July had come from a Middle Eastern country, police say. 

According to an investigator, the amount was Tk 13.40 lakh and it arrived in Bangladesh from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) through Hundi, a system for transferring money without legal protection or supervision.

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The sender is a sympathiser of “Neo JMB”, an offshoot of banned militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh, added the official.

Investigators believe “Neo JMB” carried out the two attacks -- one in Gulshan's Holey Artisan Bakery on July 1 killing 20 hostages and the other near the Sholakia Eidgah on July 7 leaving two policemen, a housewife and a militant suspect dead.    

At a briefing yesterday, Monirul Islam, chief of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said they are yet to identify the sender but they know who received the money from this end.

“We have his identity. We are trying to catch him. Most of the money was spent for house rent and weapons,” Monirul told reporters at the DMP Media Centre.

Officials are investigating whether a Bangladeshi expatriate in the Middle East sent the money to militants, or the money went to militants from anyone in Bangladesh via the Middle East.

On the weapons, Monirul said police were yet to ascertain the source but it is confirmed that the arms in both the attacks came through India.

A senior official dealing with militancy told this newspaper that donations from expatriates are the major source of money for “Neo JMB”. Non-resident Bangladeshis contribute to its fund sometimes without knowing the exact purpose.

The radical group used to manage funds through bank heist, robbery and mugging before Bangladeshi-Canadian Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury became its leader. As the chief coordinator, he started bringing in money from foreign countries using his connections.

With the killing of Tamim in the August 27 raid in Narayanganj, the group's network for collecting funds from abroad suffered a huge setback.

A number of investigators said funds for militants in Bangladesh often come in the name of charities and NGOs from different Middle Eastern countries.

HUNT FOR KEY MILITANTS

The “Neo JMB”, as law enforcers call it, follows the ideology of Islamic State. It was formed by leaders and operatives of mainstream JMB who did not accept the leadership of Saidur Rahman.

Monirul said the group has lost 60 to 70 percent of its strength following recent raids in Kalyanpur, Azimpur and others areas.

But, he said, some key militants like Nurul Islam Marzan, Rajib Gandhi alias Subhas Gandhi alias Shanto and Basharuzzaman who is known in the organisation as Chocolate are still on the run.

Besides, two top leaders -- Mamunur Rashid Ripon alias Jahangir and Shariful Islam Khaled -- left for India in April, days after the murder of Rajshahi University professor Rezaul Karim Siddiquee.

Marzan, a close aide to Tamim, was the “operation commander” of the café attack.

Rajib, 35, from Gaibandha district, was involved in over 30 secret killings and terrorist attacks in northern and south-western regions.

He was quite young when he joined the mainstream JMB which carried out synchronised bomb attacks across the country in 2005. He was never arrested, Monirul said.

Once a college student, Rajib is a second-tier leader of “Neo JMB” and had close connection with slain coordinator Tamim.

He is thought to be one of the planners and organisers of the Gulshan and Sholakia attacks. He sent two militants from Bogra to take part in the Gulshan attack while another from Dinajpur for Sholakia attack.