Burdwan: Bangla terror outfit’s women chief held

The chief of the women’s wing of the banned Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), who is also the wife of the prime accused in the Burdwan blast case, was arrested in Dhaka on Saturday, police in Bangladesh claimed.

The chief of the women’s wing of the banned Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), who is also the wife of the prime accused in the Burdwan blast case, was arrested in Dhaka on Saturday, police in Bangladesh claimed.

Fatema Begum, wife of blast accused Sheikh Rehmatullah alias Sajid, was held with three associates carrying explosives, bomb-making material and jihadi books, deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Masudur Rahman told a leading daily.

Begum confessed to training at least 25 women militants in West Bengal and was with Sajid when the bomb went off in Burdwan on October 2, police said.

The explosion killed one militant and exposed a wide terror network built in West Bengal. The case is currently being probed by the National Investigation Agency.

“Three women trained those interested in joining JMB and Begum was their coordinator. They convinced poor people to join the terror outfit by offering them rehabilitation,” police spokesman Monirul Islam said.

The JMB plans to establish an Islamic state spanning Bangladesh and parts of West Bengal.

Indian security agencies are now likely to seek more details from their Bangladeshi counterparts.