Burdwan blast: Bangladeshi sleuths reach Kolkata

A team of Bangladeshi intelligence officials Thursday reached Kolkata to talk to investigators, including the NIA, regarding the Oct 2 Burdwan blast in which terror group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) is suspected to be involved.

Bangladesh's Minister of State for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said the seven-member team comprising officials of his country's top intelligence and law enforcement agencies will meet officers of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) which is probing the blast.

"The delegation is expected to visit Burdwan and hold talks with the investigators, including NIA officers," Kamal told IANS over phone from Dhaka.

The team comprising high-ranking officials of Bangladesh's Directorate General of Forces Intelligence, the National Security Intelligence and the Detective Branch and other agencies touched down at the Kolkata airport Thursday evening.

The blast in a house in Khagragarh in Burdwan left two JMB militants dead and another injured.

A team of NIA officials recently visited Dhaka and shared information about the blast for which many people, including Bangladeshi nationals, have been arrested.

While several suspects, including blast mastermind Sajid, have been arrested from India, Bangladeshi police arrested nine people including Sajid's wife and JMB's women wing chief Fatema Begum from Dhaka Nov 22.

"Both India and Bangladesh are committed to fight against terrorism. The delegation will share information with the NIA to help it locate more suspects," Kamal added.