Police attack mastermind freelanced for terror financing

Jamal Uddin Rafiq, the alleged brains behind five militant attacks on police in 2019 in Dhaka, would work as a freelancer to earn money to finance terror activities.

Translating copies and writing articles for others, he earned a lot. With this income, he financed a group of six militants, including himself, to carry out the bomb attacks, according to police.

A team of Dhaka Metropolitan Police's (DMP) Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit nabbed Jamal, along with one of his associates Anawar Hossain, on Sunday night from Dhaka's Shanir Akhra.

Police seized four mobile phones and a laptop from these two members of banned militant outfit Neo-Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (Neo-JMB), the follower of Islamic State.

Jamal graduated from the Khulna University of Engineering and Technology, and Anwar would trade burnt engine oil in different areas of the capital.

Monirul Islam, the additional commissioner of the DMP and chief of the CTTC unit, on Monday, revealed the information at a press briefing at the DMP media centre. "Jamal was first involved with the Ansar al-Islam, another banned militant outfit. Later, he joined the Neo-JMB and convinced his brother Rumi and two other friends to join him."

The CTTC boss also said the law enforcers, on September 22 last year, arrested four members – Mehedi Hassan Tamim, Fariduddin Rumi, Abdullah Azmir and Mishuk Khan – of the same militant cell in connection with attacks on police.

They admitted attacking police to destroy the spirit of the law enforcers. Their other two targets were recruiting members to their group and making their presence as an organisation visible, said the DMP official.

However, subsequent to their arrest, police conducted a drive on September 23 last year at Jamal's "bomb factory" at Narayanganj and recovered a considerable quantity of fresh bombs and explosives but failed to arrest Jamal.

Among the four arrested militants, Mishuk confessed before the court about his involvement in those attacks on police. He also named Jamal as their team leader, added Monirul.

This militant group carried out improvised explosive device attacks targeting police at the capital's Gulistan, Malibagh, Science Lab, Paltan and Khamarbari areas, according to him.

Five policemen, a community police member, a rickshaw puller and a woman were injured in blasts in three of those five attacks.

Wearing suicidal vests and black dresses with the IS symbol and posing with toy weapons, earlier, Jamal, Rumi, Abdullah and Anwar shot a video. They circulated it on social media to send out a message about extremism – their ideology, Monirul added.