Holey Artisan bakery attack

Prime suspect, 3 aides arrseted

Sohel Mahfuj, one of the prime accused in last July’s attack on the Holey Artisan café at Gulshan in the capital, was arrested along with three associates from Puskunirpar area on the Shibganj-Chowdala road under Shibganj upazila in Chapainawabganj district early yesterday.

Apart from 35-year-old Mahfuj, the other arrestees were identified as Jamal, 34, of Charmohonpur under Chapainawabganj Sadar upazila, Hafizur Rahman, 28, of Parbatipur under Shibganj upazila in Chapainawabganj district, and Jewel, 26, of Biswanathpur Katiapara under Shibganj upazila in Chapainawabganj district.

Of the four arrestees, Sohel Mahfuj was handed over to the Counter Terrorism unit of Dhaka, while the other three have been kept in the custody of Chapainawabganj police.

In a media briefing at the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) media centre, Counter Terrorism unit chief Manirul Islam told reporters that Mahfuj was the chief of JMB in India.

“He is an accused in a case filed in India over the 2014 Burdwan blast and Indian police announced Rupees 10 lakh award for his arrest”, Manirul said.

“Mahfuz supplied explosives used in the Dhaka cafe attack. It is also believed that he is one of the founding members of the old JMB. His arrest was vital for the café attack case as well as other cases related to militancy,” Manirul added.

Mahfuj is also accused in the Kalyanpur blast case in the capital. Police will seek 10-day remand for Mahfuj when he is produced before the court today. Chapainawabganj superintendent of police (SP) TM Mojahidul Islam said, “Jamal alias Mostofa was one of the chief coordinators of the Neo-JMB, while Hafijur Rahman alias Hasan was the IT specialist of the Neo-JMB and Jewel alias Ismail was a trained militant of the Neo-JMB.”

He added that acting on secret information, a joint team of Chapainawabganj police, police from the Counter Terrorism unit from the headquarters and Bogra district police, led by SP Mojahidul Islam, raided Puskunirpar area while the suspects were holding a secret meeting inside a mango orchard around 2.45am, and arrested the four.

The SP also disclosed that these suspects had earlier escaped arrest attempts by Chapainawabganj police a number of times. On July 1, 2016, five armed militants stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery in the Gulshan diplomatic zone and killed 20 people.

 

Holey Artisan bakery attack

Prime suspect, 3 aides arrseted

Sohel Mahfuj, one of the prime accused in last Julys attack on the Holey Artisan caf at Gulshan in the capital, was arrested along with three associates from Puskunirpar area on the Shibganj-Chowdala road under Shibganj upazila in Chapainawabganj district early yesterday. Apart from 35-year-old Mahfuj, the other arrestees were identified as Jamal, 34, of Charmohonpur under Chapainawabganj Sadar upazila, Hafizur Rahman, 28, of Parbatipur under Shibganj upazila in Chapainawabganj district, and Jewel, 26, of Biswanathpur Katiapara under Shibganj upazila in Chapainawabganj district. Of the four arrestees, Sohel Mahfuj was handed over to the Counter Terrorism unit of Dhaka, while the other three have been kept in the custody of Chapainawabganj police. In a media briefing at the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) media centre, Counter Terrorism unit chief Manirul Islam told reporters that Mahfuj was the chief of JMB in India. He is an accused in a case filed in India over the 2014 Burdwan blast and Indian police announced Rupees 10 lakh award for his arrest, Manirul said. Mahfuz supplied explosives used in the Dhaka cafe attack. It is also believed that he is one of the founding members of the old JMB. His arrest was vital for the caf attack case as well as other cases related to militancy, Manirul added. Mahfuj is also accused in the Kalyanpur blast case in the capital. Police will seek 10-day remand for Mahfuj when he is produced before the court today. Chapainawabganj superintendent of police (SP) TM Mojahidul Islam said, Jamal alias Mostofa was one of the chief coordinators of the Neo-JMB, while Hafijur Rahman alias Hasan was the IT specialist of the Neo-JMB and Jewel alias Ismail was a trained militant of the Neo-JMB. He added that acting on secret information, a joint team of Chapainawabganj police, police from the Counter Terrorism unit from the headquarters and Bogra district police, led by SP Mojahidul Islam, raided Puskunirpar area while the suspects were holding a secret meeting inside a mango orchard around 2.45am, and arrested the four. The SP also disclosed that these suspects had earlier escaped arrest attempts by Chapainawabganj police a number of times. On July 1, 2016, five armed militants stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery in the Gulshan diplomatic zone and killed 20 people.