Burdwan version 2.0: The complete confession of a bomb maker

Has the busting of the Burdwan module put the brakes on the activities of the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, Bangladesh? To a certain extent it has, but as investigations would show the modules are very much active and the recruitment process was on in full swing.

A fresh recruitment drive with the help of extremist videos and lure for cash was underway and the interrogation of Ibrahim Sheikh the latest to be arrested would show that the JMB is very much alive and kicking.

We won't give up

On October 2, 2014 when bombs accidentally went off at a house in Burdwan, West Bengal, it led to a massive trail of the JMB. A sinister plot for both India and Bangladesh was being hatched in these houses of terror. The swift action that followed led to primary members of the JMB being arrested.

However there are still many out and on the run who decided to lay low for a while. With the heat on them considerably low, these JMB terrorists have once again commenced their operations.

Jharkhand is the place where most of the them are hiding and they are undertaking a recruitment drive. The focus is on recruitments and the bomb making industry has been kept pending for now, an officer with the National Investigating Agency informed OneIndia.

Ibrahim who was arrested at Jharkhand's Santhal Paragana district had on him material that has left the police and the NIA stunned. His questioning clearly indicates that the JMB was still active and they were planning on reviving operations once again after the Burdwan bust.

Stunning material shows the game is still on

What the police found most shocking was the kind of literature that he was carrying with him. Extremist videos and literature packed in a memory chip is something that the police and the NIA are still examining. There is hardcore material in the chip and this was meant to be shown to the new recruits, NIA officials confirmed.

In addition to this Ibrahim had on him a country made revolver, five live cartrides and four country made bombs. Ibrahim told the police that he was carrying the revolver for his protection and the bombs were meant to be transported to a particular location and handed out to the newer recruits.

"I teach people how to make bombs"

Ibrahim confessed before the police that he is a professional bomb maker. I was handed out the job of meeting with new recruits and convincing them about joining the JMB. We decided to recruit as many locals as possible since we did not want the Bangladesh link coming up anymore, Ibrahim confesses.

"After the module in Burdwan was busted, all of us decided to go underground and stay cool for sometime. We never undertook any activity between October 2014 and February 2015. In the month of March we began our recruitment process on a smaller scale," Ibrahim also adds.

Ibrahim says that he is a trained bomb maker. My job was to impart this knowledge to the new recruits. We were in the process of making over 5000 bombs and once the module was busted last year we had to take it slow, he also says.

Demonstrating Jihad

Ibrahim says that he carried around the memory chip with him at all times. It was given to me by my bosses. We would gather a few persons and show them the footage on a computer.

The footage contained atrocities and also the agenda of the JMB. The importance of overthrowing Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh was the prime focus of the videos and material. Unless and until she is moved out of Bangladesh, the Jamaat would never achieve its goal, he says while quoting a speech by a senior JMB leader which is part of the footage.

He goes on to state that they never abandoned the plans and the intention was the same and that was to throw Sheikh Hasina out of power. After the first module in Burdwan was busted, we decided that we need to slow down.

However at no point in time did any one of us think that we will abandon the operation. There is too much at stake for us, he says without any sense of remorse.