Who were these Marzan, Saddam?

Nurul Islam Marzan, alias Fahad, was believed to be the new chief of the notorious militant outfit Neo-JMB and was on the list of law enforcement agencies for having allegedly masterminded the Holey Artisan Bakery attack that killed 23 people, including 17 foreigners, in July last year. According to officials of the  Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crimes Unit (CTTC), Marzan had passed Dakhil from the Darul Ulum Markazia Madrasa in 2010 and Alim from the Arifpur Fazil Madrasa in Pabna in 2012. He was a student of the Darul Hadis Qawmi Madrasa at Banshbazar in Pabna city.
But he sat for Dakhil and Alim exams from Alia madrasas as the Qawmi madrasa is not a government-affiliated educational institution, said Motiur Rahman, superintendent of the Arifpur Fazil Madrasa.
Marzan was initially a close aide of Mushfiqur Rahman, a suspended teacher of the Darul Hadis Qawmi Madrasa and follower of Asadullah Al Galib.
According to Motiur Rahman, Marzan had appeared for the Alim exams from his institution as an irregular student. “Marzan was, in fact, a Qawmi Madrasa student. But he got his registration through my institution and then appeared in the Alim examinations,” he said.
Jahid Hasan, superintendent of the Darul Ulum Markazia Madrasa, said that while a student at the Qawmi Madrasa, Marzan had taken the Dakhil exams from his institution in 2010 and got GPA-5.
Nizamuddin, father of Marzan, said: “He ( Marzan), along with his wife, had been missing for more than a year.”
After securing his Alim degree from the Arifpur Fazil Madrasa, Marzan was admitted to the Arabic department of Chittagong University, said Iftekhar Uddin Chowdhury, vice-chancellor of the university.
The university authorities had published a list of its six missing students, but Marzan’s name did not appear in it.
Marzan was radicalised in 2012 while studying in the CU. After he was introduced to Fardin, a top militant, he took the charge of providing motivational training to fresh militant recruits in Chittagong division.
Earlier, on August 12, last year, CTTC officials had claimed that Marzan was a close aide of slain Bangladeshi-origin Canadian citizen Tamim Chowdhury, the chief of the Neo-JMB. Militants Bulbul and Sajedul brought Marzan to meet Tamim in person.
Considering Marzan’s devotion to the organisation, Tamim selected him for the top position of the Neo-JMB.
Afrin Akhter, alias Fatema Ferdous, wife of Marzan, disclosed such information after she was recently arrested from the Azimpur militant den.
About Marzan’s role in the Gulshan café attack, CTTC chief Monirul Islam said: “During the July 1 Gulshan attack, Marzan was staying at Kalyanpur in the capital and communicating with the attackers and two other masterminds.”
Marzan had taken the Holey Artisan attackers to the Gulshan area and later left the spot on July 1, he added.
Recently, police had announced a Tk. 20 lakh bounty on Marzan along with Tamim.
Saddam Hossain, alias Rahul, alias Sabuj, alias Chanchal, alias Robi, was named in the charge sheets of cases concerning the murder of Japanese citizen Hoshi Kunio, the murder of shrine caretaker Rahmat Ali, the attempted murder of Bahai Centre director Ruhul Amin in Rangpur, the murder of Joggeshwar Roy in Panchagarh, and the murder of converted Christian freedom fighter Hossain Ali Sarker in Kurigram.
He was named as an accused in three other murder cases filed with Gaibandha police station.
Saddam is the son of Alam Miah and Sufia Begum of Char Bidhyananda village of Rajarhat upazila in Kurigram.
A senior officer of Rangpur police said that Saddam was facing arrest warrants in the cases. He was known as the military commander of the Neo-JMB’s northern region. He used to supply arms and explosives before attacks, the officer added.
Police came to know about Saddam after a Neo-JMB member, Masud Rana, arrested in the Hoshi Kunio case, confessed in the court. Rana said that Saddam, along with other accomplices, had started following Kunio’s movements eight to 10 days before the murder on October 3 last year. He went close to Kunio’s house three days before the attack and monitored his activities. Masud Rana, Nazrul Islam, alias Bike Hassan, and Bijoy implemented the plan after receiving the order from Saddam, according to the charge sheet.
Saddam had provided the motorcycle and two pistols used in the attack.

Who were these Marzan, Saddam?

Nurul Islam Marzan, alias Fahad, was believed to be the new chief of the notorious militant outfit Neo-JMB and was on the list of law enforcement agencies for having allegedly masterminded the Holey Artisan Bakery attack that killed 23 people, including 17 foreigners, in July last year. According to officials of the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crimes Unit (CTTC), Marzan had passed Dakhil from the Darul Ulum Markazia Madrasa in 2010 and Alim from the Arifpur Fazil Madrasa in Pabna in 2012. He was a student of the Darul Hadis Qawmi Madrasa at Banshbazar in Pabna city. But he sat for Dakhil and Alim exams from Alia madrasas as the Qawmi madrasa is not a government-affiliated educational institution, said Motiur Rahman, superintendent of the Arifpur Fazil Madrasa. Marzan was initially a close aide of Mushfiqur Rahman, a suspended teacher of the Darul Hadis Qawmi Madrasa and follower of Asadullah Al Galib. According to Motiur Rahman, Marzan had appeared for the Alim exams from his institution as an irregular student. Marzan was, in fact, a Qawmi Madrasa student. But he got his registration through my institution and then appeared in the Alim examinations, he said. Jahid Hasan, superintendent of the Darul Ulum Markazia Madrasa, said that while a student at the Qawmi Madrasa, Marzan had taken the Dakhil exams from his institution in 2010 and got GPA-5. Nizamuddin, father of Marzan, said: He ( Marzan), along with his wife, had been missing for more than a year. After securing his Alim degree from the Arifpur Fazil Madrasa, Marzan was admitted to the Arabic department of Chittagong University, said Iftekhar Uddin Chowdhury, vice-chancellor of the university. The university authorities had published a list of its six missing students, but Marzans name did not appear in it. Marzan was radicalised in 2012 while studying in the CU. After he was introduced to Fardin, a top militant, he took the charge of providing motivational training to fresh militant recruits in Chittagong division. Earlier, on August 12, last year, CTTC officials had claimed that Marzan was a close aide of slain Bangladeshi-origin Canadian citizen Tamim Chowdhury, the chief of the Neo-JMB. Militants Bulbul and Sajedul brought Marzan to meet Tamim in person. Considering Marzans devotion to the organisation, Tamim selected him for the top position of the Neo-JMB. Afrin Akhter, alias Fatema Ferdous, wife of Marzan, disclosed such information after she was recently arrested from the Azimpur militant den. About Marzans role in the Gulshan caf attack, CTTC chief Monirul Islam said: During the July 1 Gulshan attack, Marzan was staying at Kalyanpur in the capital and communicating with the attackers and two other masterminds. Marzan had taken the Holey Artisan attackers to the Gulshan area and later left the spot on July 1, he added. Recently, police had announced a Tk. 20 lakh bounty on Marzan along with Tamim. Saddam Hossain, alias Rahul, alias Sabuj, alias Chanchal, alias Robi, was named in the charge sheets of cases concerning the murder of Japanese citizen Hoshi Kunio, the murder of shrine caretaker Rahmat Ali, the attempted murder of Bahai Centre director Ruhul Amin in Rangpur, the murder of Joggeshwar Roy in Panchagarh, and the murder of converted Christian freedom fighter Hossain Ali Sarker in Kurigram. He was named as an accused in three other murder cases filed with Gaibandha police station. Saddam is the son of Alam Miah and Sufia Begum of Char Bidhyananda village of Rajarhat upazila in Kurigram. A senior officer of Rangpur police said that Saddam was facing arrest warrants in the cases. He was known as the military commander of the Neo-JMBs northern region. He used to supply arms and explosives before attacks, the officer added. Police came to know about Saddam after a Neo-JMB member, Masud Rana, arrested in the Hoshi Kunio case, confessed in the court. Rana said that Saddam, along with other accomplices, had started following Kunios movements eight to 10 days before the murder on October 3 last year. He went close to Kunios house three days before the attack and monitored his activities. Masud Rana, Nazrul Islam, alias Bike Hassan, and Bijoy implemented the plan after receiving the order from Saddam, according to the charge sheet. Saddam had provided the motorcycle and two pistols used in the attack.