A leader of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) wanted in connection with the Holey Artisan Bakery attack in Dhaka’s Gulshan was arrested from a central Kolkata hideout earlier this week, Indian English language daily Telegraph reported on Wednesday.
Mohammad Idris, one of the "most wanted" suspects in the July 1 cafe attack in which dozens including some foreigners were killed, was hiding in the Burrabazar area, according to information passed on by a special cell of Delhi police to Kolkata police."There was specific information that Idris was shuttling between Hyderabad and Kolkata and was trying to recruit and radicalise youths for the cause of Rohingyas," a source said.Concentrated in western Myanmar, the Rohingyas are considered by the UN as the "most persecuted minority group in the world"As the persecution of Rohingyas is an emotive issue in Bangladesh, the JMB, intelligence sources said, is trying to use it to regroup after the Sheikh Hasina government cracked down on extremist elements after the cafe attack.According to the information gathered by Delhi police, Idris was actively involved in the attack on the Gulshan café and he fled the country immediately thereafter to escape the Bangladeshi security agencies."He had sneaked into India and found shelter at a place in Colootola near Burrabazar at least three months ago. He was moving between Calcutta and Hyderabad and taking instructions from the JMB top leader Salhein to work for the cause of the Rohingyas," an intelligence source said.Salhein, according to the central agencies, heads both the Indian and Bangladeshi chapters of the JMB and is said to be hiding somewhere in India.A fortnight ago, a Delhi police team had come to Kolkata and conducted an operation, jointly with the officers of the central Intelligence Bureau to pick up Idris. The operation, about which Calcutta police was not informed, had drawn a blank.After the failed attempt, the central agencies had shared the information about Idris with Kolkata police and sought their assistance. Kolkata police arrested him from Colootola and handed him over to the special cell of the Delhi police earlier this week.Sources said their counterparts in Bangladeshi counter-terrorism unit have been informed of the catch and if need be, they would be allowed to interrogate Idris.
Source : Telegraph