Burdwan blast: NIA gets JMB's fund raiser

Kolkata, June 19: The arrest of Nurul Hoque alias Naeem in connection with the Burdwan blasts case will help the National Investigating Agency join the dots better. Naeem's arrest which took place in the wee hours of Thursday will help the NIA understand the financing of the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, Bangladesh better.

The NIA has so far arrested 21 persons in connection with the October 2 2014, Burdwan blasts case. Naeem had been absconding since the day the blast occurred and a cash reward on him had been announced.

The importance of Naeem's arrest

Naeem according to officer of the NIA had played a major role in financing the JMB which had set up the Burdwan module. He adopted the local style of raising funds for the outfit. It was found that Naeem had moved around West Bengal and collected funds from sympathizers.

During his fund raising drive, he had spoken to several people. He had spoken about the Mukimagar and Shumulia Madrasas and had lied to people that they were imparting education for the poor.

However when the NIA probed the case it had found that the Mukimnagar Madarsa in Murshidabad and Shimulia Madarsa in Burdwan district had been used as recruiting and training grounds by the JMB.

Two member fund collection drive

The NIA has learnt that Naeem along with another operative by the name Dalim Sheikh had embarked upon a fund collection drive. The NIA says that the local Burdwan module was being financed by these two persons.

The JMB which had initially sent in funds from Bangladesh had later on relied on a local network. They realized that hawala transactions between the borders was a risky affair. The JMB then instructed Naeem and Sheikh to launch a fund collection drive.

The duo had visited several parts of West Bengal and also Assam in a bid to collect funds. Both these persons would drop off the funds at either the Madrasas that they had set up or at the house in Burdwan which had become the main bomb manufacturing unit.

The NIA is currently questioning Naeem. Officers say that they will seek further custody as he is a key player. The financer of an outfit is always an important player in the case as he is the one who will tell us about his contacts and the persons who had been funding the Jamaat ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh.

OneIndia News