The New Nation - Internet Edition

Mamunur Rashid

The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has launched a drive for five high-ranking leaders of the outlawed Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), according to the anti-militant cell.

The drive aims at hunting the new Ameer of the banned JMB, Saidur Rahman, the militant IT chief Sayem and three other leaders, Shahid, Ibrahim and Mustaq.

RAB source said the recently recovered ammunition could produce at least 1,000 hand grenades more powerful than Arges. RAB recovered 150 empty grenade shells and huge quantity of militant booklets printed in the country.

Mohmmad Hanif alias Kalam, a top-ranking leader of JMB, arrested recently, is a close associate of Saidur Rahman, sources said.

On a tip off, the RAB raided a house at Kalshi in Mirpur at dawn on Saturday and arrested Mohmmad Hanif alias Kalam, while he was at a meeting with the five top-ranking leaders of the JMB. Sensing the presence of the RAB forces, the others fled the house. Kalam confessed to the RAB that Saidur Rahman was in the house during the raid but escaped arrest.

Early in the morning on Sunday RAB-10 raided the house of IT chief of JMB Sayem on the backside of United Petrol Pump at Shanir Akhra under Jatrabari Police Station in the city and recovered the huge cache of explosives and militant booklets. However, RAB was unable to arrest him.

The militant activists established dens in most of the low-lying areas and crowded places in the Mirpur, Jatarabari, Manda, Shanir Akhra, Jawabazar and the old part of the city. They use mobile phones to communicate with their network all over the country, sources said.

The militant JMB allegedly have strong links with an influential political party and their source of income was donation from its members, the RAB learnt.

The JMB was trying to regroup, armed with country-made weapons and establish strongholds in the city to take revenge of the execution of JMB kingpins Abdur Rahman, Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai and four others in March 2007, sources added.

Director of RAB-10 SM Kamal Hossain told the New Nation, "We are trying to nab all militant cadres so that they cannot function in future." He also urged the citizens to keep an eye on their neighbourhood and inform the law enforcement agencies if they find anything unusual.