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JMB Supremo Shaikh Rahman arrested in India [ 2 Reports ]
 JMB Chief held in India? - UPDATE from Reuters DHAKA, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The head of a Bangladeshi Islamist group blamed for a wave of bomb attacks has been arrested in a neighbouring Indian state, newspapers said on Monday. Shayek Abdur Rahman, supreme leader of the outlawed Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen group, was picked up from a hideout in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal on Sunday, The New Age and Amar Desh newspapers said, citing intelligence sources. There was no official confirmation of the reports, and Bangladeshi interior ministry officials could not be reached for comment. Security forces last week launched a massive hunt on Bangladesh's western borders after an intelligence tip-off that Rahman was in the area, along with Siddikul Islam Bangla Bhai, chief of another Islamic group, Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh. Both have been missing since nearly 500 small bombs exploded simultaneously across the country on Aug. 17 last year. Authorities have blamed the bombings and subsequent suicide attacks on the two groups, which are campaigning for the introduction of sharia law in Bangladesh, a mainly-Muslim democracy. Newspapers said Indian authorities had taken Rahman, who was picked up from the district of 24 Parganas in West Bengal state, to New Delhi for interrogation. There has been no official comment from the Indian side. Bangladesh and India share a 4,000-km (2,500-mile) border, which is regarded as one of the world's most porous frontiers. And this: New Age Report, Monday, January 23, 2006 JMB Chief held in India?  The fugitive supremo of Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh, Shaikh Abdur Rahman, was reportedly arrested by the Indian Police in West Bengal on Sunday, said home ministry sources in Dhaka early this morning. The West Bengal police nabbed the Mujahideen leader, an extremist, from a hideout at Barasat, 24 Parganas of West Bengal, a neighboring Indian state, a source close to the state minister for home affairs, Lutfuzzaman Babar, told New Age.Shaikh Rahman is said to be responsible for a series of suicide attacks in public places in Dhaka and elsewhere in Bangladesh. Meanwhile, a source in Kolkata of West Bengal, told New Age over telephone that Indian police has implicated Shaikh Rahman in a murder case. More than 400 bombings took place on August 17 and a series of subsequent bombings, including several suicide attacks followed. Twenty-eight people, including four suicide bombers, died in such incidents.  According to the source, the West Bengal police arrested the member of the outfit, Mohsin, from 24 Parganas on Saturday. Following extensive interrogation, the Indian police came to know from Mohsin that Shaikh Rahman was also hiding in the area. Subsequently the police raided the area and nabbed Rahman the next day. Shaikh was sent to the Indian capital, new Delhi, immediately after his arrest, the source said. The state minister for home affairs told New Age at 12:30 a.m this morning that he had first come to know of the arrest from the midnight media reports. âNeither the Indian government, nor our High Commission in India has so far officially told us anything about Shaikh Rahmanâs reported arrestâ the minister said. âWe expect the government of Delhi will officially inform us on the arrest, if the wanted JMB leader is nabbed in India. Besides we shall take necessary steps about it, through a diplomatic channel, as soon as Dhaka and Delhi wake up tomorrow [Monday] morningâ. In this regard, the minister said the Bangladesh government had earlier sought cooperation of Interpol operating in different part of the world including India, in arresting the JMB leader. Shaikh Rahman formed an Islamist militant outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh, which was banned by the government in October 17th ,2 005. On October 28, 2005 the government announced a bounty of Taka 50 lakh each on capture of Shaikh Rahman and Bangla Bhai. Posted by: Themp Unoluns2427 2006-01-23 |
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