A joint team of Nilphamari and Rangpur police and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) launched the overnight raid on the second-floor den in a three-storey house at Noorpur under Mohadevpur upazila at 10:00pm. However, no arrest was made during the raid.

The law enforcement agencies suspect Awal, son-in-law of JMB chief Shaikh Abdur Rahman and third top gun of the banned Islamist outfit, was stationed in Rangpur to carry out bomb strikes on local judges, journalists and pro-liberation political leaders. He was arrested on November 18.

Also on Tuesday, JMB operatives sent letters to two more judges in Munshiganj, threatening to kill them and their families.

RECOVERIES FROMJMB DEN
Our Rangpur correspondent reports: Among the materials recovered from Awal's lair were a JMB hit-list, letters from detained JMB men, laminated newspaper clippings on the assassination attempt on Humayun Azad and news clippings on various militant activities.

The police seized a number of books on Jihad or Islamic holy war, training manuals on armed combat and bomb making, and a map showing the strategic points in the northern region from the flat. They found chequebooks of two banks, legal documents of Awal's property, passports of the JMB chief's brother Ataur Rahman and one Aminul Islam, son of Abdullah of Tangail, and passport-size photographs of three unknown militants.

A letter of Abdur Rahman addressed to Awal was also recovered from the floor. In it Abdur Rahman informed his son-in-law that he was safe and asked his followers to fight against all odds along the way to establishing Islamic rule in the country.

Among the explosive materials, the police recovered one kilogram of gunpowder, a large number of detonators and splinters, timers, circuit diagrams, capacitors and a switch. Besides, two walky-talkies, 25 flashlights, cellphones, a computer, swords, one 6-volt lead-acid and 50 dry cell batteries, a radio frequency signal detector, a bomb-making dice, video footages of Afghan war and manuals on various devices were also recovered.

The law enforcers found three dummy AK47 rifles, two dummy pistols, televisions, audiocassettes, some compact discs (CDs) of Abdur Rahman and mobile phone numbers of around 50 police officials.

The police said it appears from the chequebooks that the Islamist outfit has recently withdrawn some Tk 9,00,000 from three accounts with two banks--Al Arafa Islami Bank, Dhaka and Bogra Bazar Branch of Sonali Bank.

Rangpur Superintendent of Police (SP) Mahbub Mohsin said, "We asked the government high-ups to freeze the bank accounts and investigate the transactions."

THE RAID
On information disclosed by JMB leader Hafez Saidur Rahman, a Nilphamari police team led by SP Shoeb Ahmed went to the Noorpur house at 10:00pm. They informed Rangpur SP Mohsin about the operation only after cordoning off the building.

SP Mohshin rushed to the spot with a large contingent of police and aided in the raid that continued until 6:00am yesterday.

Saidur Rahman was arrested in Kurigram on November 18 in connection with the August 17 countrywide orchestrated bomb blasts.

However, some sources said the police received the information about Awal's hideout from Awukat, a militant hailing from Dimla of Nilphamari, arrested earlier and is now undergoing interrogation at the Joint Interrogation Cell (JIC) in Dhaka.

The police could not contact owner of the house Abu Musa Mohammed Johurul Hoque, a former trade union leader of Shyampur Sugar Mills. He was at his village home in Baderganj upazila.

Musa, a former Awami League activist, joined the workers front of Jatiya Party immediately before he retired from his job around two years ago. The police held Musa's son and the caretaker of the house named Nasima.

Police sources said Nasima claimed she came to know that the man living in the second-floor flat was the son-in-law of the JMB chief only after his November 18 arrest in Thakurgaon.

She said Awal posed as a fruit trader and gave his name as Rafiqul Islam. Rangpur Kotwali Police Station Officer-in-Charge Bazlur Rahman told The Daily Star Awal lived at the rented flat with his wife and a child for two and a half months.

A police officer preferring anonymity said, “Awal came to stay in Rangpur to organise the local JMB members and to carry out bombing operations in the adjoining districts.”

An official of Detective Branch of police said JMB planned to keep Rangpur peaceful in order to hide its base and intended to kill judges and political leaders of the adjoining districts.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police of Rajshahi Range Baharul Alam visited the Noorpur house yesterday morning. He admitted that JMB has a strong network in the region and its members may have plans to carry out more destructive operations in the northern districts as they did on August 17.

A case under the Explosives Act was lodged with Kotwali police yesterday afternoon.

Our Nilphamari correspondent quoting some police officials adds: Veiled women used to frequent Awal's flat. The operations of JMB in the northern region used to be coordinated from this flat. The four-room apartment has adequate arrangements for accommodating visitors.

After the arrest of Awal, his wife and the child fled the flat.

DEATH THREATS TO JUDGES
UNB reports a JMB suicide squad threatened to kill Munshiganj District and Sessions Judge Monsoor Ali and Additional District and Sessions Judge Monir Hossain Patwari along with their family members if they do not quit their jobs immediately.

In the letter mailed to Judge Monsoor Ali on Tuesday, the militants said the rule of Allah must be implemented instead of the existing laws.

Earlier on October 10, JMB cadres threatened in a letter to bomb the district judge court.

NURJAHAN KNEW JMB CHIEF
Our court correspondent reports that Nurjahan, the woman arrested in Dhaka for renting a house to JMB chief Abdur Rahman's family, gave a confessional statement to Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Nani Gopal Biswas yesterday. She admitted to knowing that Rahman was the chief of JMB and still renting her house to his son-in-law Awal on August 16.

Khilgaon police produced her before the court at the end of her remand.

She said Awal sometimes used to stay in the flat but it was his wife Afifa who would hand over the rent to her.

NOAKHALI
Our Noakhali correspondent reports: The police submitted a charge sheet against Abdur Rahman, JMB Operations Commander Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai and a cadre named Masumur Rahman Masum, charging them with involvement in the August 17 countrywide bomb blasts.

According to the charge sheet, Rahman and Bangla Bhai instigated Masum to make the bomb strike in the name of establishing Islamic rule in the country.

Thirty-four people were named as prosecution witnesses in the charge sheet.

Masum, son of Mofazzel Hossain, hails from Narayanganj. Locals caught him red-handed on November 3 soon after he hurled a bomb at a Laxmipur judge. A man name Abdur was killed in the attack.

Later, Masum confessed to having link with the August 17 serial blasts.

Meanwhile, the police arrested five suspected militants from a rented house near Tamruddi Bazar under Hatia upazila in Noakhali on Tuesday night.

Hatia Police Station Second Officer Sub-Inspector Farid told The Daily Star the arrestees rented the house a few months ago in guise of small vendors and have been working to inspire people in Islamist activities.

The arrestees are Mozammel Haq, 20, from Dinajpur, Mizanur Rahman Dulal, 22, from Barguna, Mohammad Yunus, 16, from Charfashion in Bhola, Tajul Islam, 20, from Lalmohan in Bhola, and Kazi Abu Taleb, 24, from Pahartoli in Chittagong.

BRAHMANBARIA
DB police submitted a charge sheet against six JMB members yesterday in connection with the August 17 bomb blasts in the district, our Brahmanbaria correspondent reports.

The six accused are Deen Islam, Saifullah Akand, Shamim Mia, Sohagh Mia, Moji Chowdhury and Shah Alam. Alam is still in hiding. Fifty-two people were named as prosecution witnesses in the charge sheet.

DINAJPUR
Our Dinajpur correspondent reports that the scheduled visit of the Indian high commissioner to Kantanagar temple on Tuesday was cancelled following arrests of three suspected militants from the temple area Sunday evening.

The police arrested Monir Hossain and Shah Alam of Brahmanbaria and Rabiul Islam of Satkhira when they were moving around suspiciously in the Raash Mela near the temple.

SYLHET
Our staff correspondent in Sylhet reports that an anonymous caller Tuesday night threatened to blow up a newspaper office, the courts and the government offices in Sylhet.

An official of the Bangla daily Dainik Kazirbazar informed journalists that the caller, who declined to give his identity, said, "We will blow up the courts tomorrow, and as the newspaper is also engaged in writing against the bomb attacks, it will also face the same fate."