Himu's Window

At least four of the mutineers of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) are believed to have been active members of Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) before they joined the paramilitary force. They all hail from Bagmara of Rajshahi, the stronghold of the Islamist militant outfit JMB, where extremists led by JMB's former operation commander Bangla Bhai, later executed, launched their atrocities.  Anwar, one of the four was well-known cadre of Bangla Bhai. He was allegedly involved in the murder of Awami League (AL) leader Yasin in 2004 in Bagmara. A team of the 'operation rebel hunt' has recently raided houses of Anwar, Ismail, Kawsar and Aftab but in vain.  The four were present at Pilkhana during the mutiny before they fled and they are still on the lam, said officers engaged in the 'operation rebel hunt'.  “There might be many more like them and we are looking into it”, said one of the officers.  The officers said some 10 to 12 rebel soldiers took shelter at Ismail...

Tuesday, March 10, 2009 Investigators in Rajshahi are trying to detect whether there is any link between BDR rebels and the patrons of outlawed Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). The investigators have information about recruitment of a number of JMB or other outfits' operatives as border guards since 2004 on political recommendations, say officials involved in the Operation Rebel Hunt. A number of politicians were arrested, went into hiding, or were affected in some ways since the 1/11 changeover following their alleged patronage of militancy. "We have asked the BDR Headquarters for a list of new recruits from Rajshahi and neighbouring districts. Identifying the recruits will take time as necessary documents are now scattered," says a senior officer. He adds they are likely to take help from the computerised database prepared during the voters' registration with photograph for properly identifying these men. The official informs that they will emphasise how m...