By Sumi Khan
Dhaka, Aug 14 (IANS): The regional commander of Neo-Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (Neo-JMB) Sheikh Sultan Mohammad Naimuzzaman, on the first day of his seven day police remand confessed that the banned militant outfit planned a bomb blast at an elite shopping mall in Gulshan on July 31, a day before Eid-ul-Azha, the officials told IANS.
He said that the bomb blast was thwarted by 'betrayers'.
The officials said that during interrogation Naimuzzaman told the Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Counterterrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit that the militants planted two pipe bombs, filled with sand, in the shopping mall on July 31 which were recovered by the CTTC unit.
The bombs were recovered by the CTTC unit.
During interrogation, the arrested militants said that they had formed a JMB cell and planned the attack. However, the information got leaked so the plan was changed.
They confessed that after the plan was changed, it was decided that a terrorist will drop a bomb at a certain place, the official said adding that they communicated with each other using a special online software.
Deputy Commissioner of the CTTC said, "Their group has two to three chiefs, who are called as 'Amir', and are the top leaders. Detailed information is being gathered from them."
The CTTC team claims that militants now longer have the capability to carry out a major attack.
Sheikh Sultan Mohammad Naimuzzaman (26) was arrested along with Sanaul Islam Saadi (26), Rubel Ahmed (28), Abdur Rahim Jewel (30), Sayem Mirza (24) carried out a CTTC raid on a house in Shaplabagh, Sylhet on the night of August 10.
Bomb-making equipments, laptops and mobile phones were recovered from them.
The banned militant outfit terrorists planned attacks in the different parts of the country a day before Eid al-Adha. They had planned to drop bombs on the streets of Purana Paltan on July 24 and planted a bomb in a temple in Sapahar of Naogaon district. on July 31.
They had also planned an attack on Shahjalal's shrine on July 23.
The bombs in Paltan and Sapahar were detonated while they failed due to implement strict police surveillance in Sylhet, Bangladesh police officials claim.