Fear persists, 3 including 'JMB man' on remand

The police accuse members of the banned Islamist outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) in the attack on a Shia mosque in Shibganj upazila of Bogra, despite no clues in this regard.
They base their assumptions on the recurrent incidents around the country and from the information gathered from JMB men arrested earlier.
Bogra police superintendant Asaduzzaman told Prothom Alo that police have so far arrested three people in connection with the Shibganj armed attack on a Shia mosque.
A Bogra court also put them on remand.
On Thursday, the muazzin of a Shia mosque was killed and three other devotees sustained bullet wounds in a spate of shooting inside a Shia mosque in Shibganj, Bogra.
Police arrested Anwarul Islam, 55, and Jewel, 20, on the night of the incident. Later they arrested Shamsul Alam, 60, principal of Molamgari Emdadul Ulum Qawmi Madrasah of the upazila on Friday night.

Anwar Hossain and Jewel Miah were put on a seven-day remand each while Shamsul Alam was put on a five-day remand.

Concerned police officials said the arrested Anwar is a former army man and a resident of Majhihatta village in the upazila. He is also an ‘ejhar’ member and trainer of JMB. He was earlier arrested in 2010 for his connection with JMB.

The other suspect, Jewel Miah, is an Aleem (twelfth grade) student of a local madrasa and was arrested for his recent suspicious movements. Both are being interrogated.

Additional police superintendent of Bogra, Arifur Rahman Mandal, said police are yet to collect any significant information regarding the Shia mosque shooting.

The members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) also arrested two people in connection with the incident.

Among the arrested, Shahinur Islam, 24, is an honors student of political science department in Bogra Government Azizul Haque College, and resident of Aladipur village of Shibganj upazila, and Raihan Ali, 28, is a local businessman.

Special company commander major AFM Ajmal Hossain of Bogra RAB-12 said both the arrestees were handed over to the police.

The Shia community in Shibganj is still in fear after the attack. Most of the shops in the area remained closed on Saturday. The regular prayers at the Shia mosque did not resume till Saturday, said the additional police superintendent.

Doctors said that the injured Imam Shahinur Islam and the two others were out of danger now. However, the family members of Shahinur were annoyed after doctors denied to operate on him to remove the bullet from his waist. Bogra police took the responsibility of the Imam’s treatment. Police may take him to a private hospital if the operation is not possible at Shaheed Zia Medical College Hospital.

At the home of the deceased, the family members were still in shock. The poverty stricken family is also anxious over their future.

Wife of the deceased Kamela Begum said, “He brought vegetables and chillies from the market and asked me to cook this. He wanted to eat after returning from prayers. I cooked the meal, but he didn’t return. Instead, news of his death came.”  

People are still visiting the house of the deceased, consoling them. But no one knows who killed the old man and what drove them to do so. The whole village is in a state of shock along with the family of the deceased.

Kamela Begum is continuously asking, “What will happen to us now? How will we live?”