Burdwan blast's Bangladeshi mastermind sent to NIA custody

A city court Sunday remanded Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) commander Sajid, said to be the mastermind of the Oct 2 Burdwan blast, in NIA custody till Nov 20.

Sajid alias Sk. Rahamatulla, described as the chief of the Burdwan module, was nabbed Saturday from near Kolkata airport by the West Bengal Police and was subsequently handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) which is probing the case.

He was produced before the court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Mumtaz Khan who remanded him to NIA custody till Nov 20.

"Sajid, the mastermind in the Burdwan blast, admitted before the court that he served several years in Bangladesh jails and fled to India earlier in the year. Investigations have revealed he used to taught in madarsas and impart jihadi ideology," said NIA prosecutor S.K. Ghosh.

Ghosh also said that Sajid from whom several fake voter identity cards and driving licences were recovered, wanted to live in India as a citizen.

"We have secured his custody and his interrogation will help us unravel the entire conspiracy," he added.

The 33-year-old was staying near Lalgola madarsa in Mukimnagar of Murshidabad district, ahead of the Oct 2 blast inside a house at Khagragarh of Burdwan town, around 100 km from here.

Sajid was nabbed a day after his close associate and key 'jihadi motivator' Zia-ul-Haque was arrested by the NIA from Malda district in connection with the blast.

The accidental bomb explosion in a house in Khagragarh left two suspected JMB militants dead and another injured and broke the lead on the most sensational jihadi terrorist conspiracy in the state in recent times.

Several people, including two women, are behind bars in connection with the explosion.