He sat on the floor awkwardly, handcuffs on, and a thick rope tied on his waist- the other end of the rope was held tight by one big guy with crew cut hair and bristling mustache. Two more crew cut stony faces were there too—one of them with one deadly looking automatic firearms and the other- the elderly one- with a notebook.
I could make out the youth—stocky, small hair, clean shaved, wary eyes and about 5 feet 4 inches tall- sitting on the floor was a bit confused at my presence there. The youth was trying hard not betray any fear in his behavior but his eyes reflected the worry . He knew the suave tall and dignified officer, the Boss, as they had evidently several ‘interactions’ in the past, some of them, I was certain, were not as calm and cool and civil in nature. It was not as peaceful and reassuring as it seemed here. I had a nagging feeling that the youth who was sitting in an uncertain position might have been hanging upside down somewhere in a room in this building itself, may be only the night before. In fact when he entered the room I noticed he had difficulties in walking and asked permission for sitting on the floor. The officer, here Boss, is an old friend of mine and I always thought this perfect gentleman with unbelievably soft demeanor looked more like a respected professor instead a senior IPS. But , this officer who had seen world of conflicts in Cosovo, tracked terrorist funding in Kashmir, led an elite force as its commander and held many other important positions–knew his tradecraft well, especially when it came to deal with hardcore and trained Islamic terrorists.
Here where I was sitting on a sofa with this officer and the youth in handcuff evidently was wondering who could be this mustachioed bearded guy. But Zahid aka Hafizur-, that was his name, if I can properly remember, at the face of it took more interest in me this time. He was a trained terrorist and naturally smart and cunning enough with a special knowledge imparted on him to judge people – by the look, by the behavior, be the demeanor, by the language—with subtle hints in dialect influences and nuances. He could definitely make out I was not from that security/ sleuth systems. But he was convinced the bearded man who could smoke in front of the ‘chief’ and talk to him in ‘tum’ ‘tum’ relations- must be someone very ‘important’—but not a newsman. Similar was, perhaps, the impression of those crew cuts too. They also did not know who I was. So the elderly crew cut with note book kept on noting whatever I asked Zahid and whatever his answers were. They also took me seriously, that I could make out. The Boss seldom spoke but allowed me to ask questions at free will. Ohh yes, in the room only the boss knew me, the others did not have any inkling of my job.
Actually, the meeting was not at all planned. I along with Pradip Datta Bhoumik, News Editor of Dainik Sambad had gone to Chandigarh to attend a programme with senior Union Ministers on October 16-19, 2016. On our return from Chandigarh Pradip da stayed back in Delhi and I at the invitation of the ‘Boss’ fly out to another city instead of Agartala on October 21. I was picked up from the airport by his men and taken straight to the office. There while discussing all types of issues, the Islamic terrorists and their activities cropped up. It was then he told me he had got five top level JMB terrorists in his custody. I asked whether I could meet them, he said, yes. So I was here.
While in the room with Zahid or Hafizur –whatever the name it was , a Bangladeshi, and the security guards, I did not purposefully disclose my identity. Neither I carried a note book nor a tape recorder. I also did not take photograph of Zahid. Boss in this special unit did not, of course, forbid me from doing so, it was a self-restrained step on my part. Had I taken the notes, photographs or recorded whatever transpired between us, it would have not been possible for me to prevent myself from writing my interview with a dreaded Islamic terrorist – a JMB module chief in India and that would have jeopardized the security investigation to a great extent and, most importantly my friend, the boss would have been in a serious spot. Sometimes as a reporter you need to play Gregory- Joe Bradley- Peck of Roman Holiday. Killing the best news in a reporter’s life often becomes the most important task than the news itself.
Today he is not there in that security/ investigation agency and five years have elapsed so I took this opportunity to write.
Anyway, at first the Boss asked Zahid –there were four more Bangladeshis held up somewhere in this building, but Zahid being their leader was brought in his room- to tell his stories once again in details.
So he told his life story, his operations—all. How he spent his time in Saudi Arabia and how badly he was treated there by the Shaikhs, how after returning to Dhaka he was sucked in the JMB and gradually went up the ladder, how he was betrayed, and how got arrested by RAB once, and then how he came out of prison and again joined the organization and sent to Assam to create a terrorist module. He told in details how he got settled in Barpeta area and then was joined by two others from Bangladesh, how they would carry out recce, visit masjids looking out for more religious type youths and gave them ‘dawat’ and how very slowly but steadily in determined ways in a series of similar dawat or staged managed ‘sudden meetings’ they would play with the new found youth’s socio-economic conditions, religious sentiments, his emotions, pent up angers—all shades of human psychology and then indoctrinate him and then ultimately recruit him as a member of the terrorist organization. Zahid told how he could travel to North Bengal and attended Waaj Mehfils to seek out future recruits. They all operated only on need to know basis and the chain of acquaintances would end abruptly –leaving no scope for ‘comebacks’.
And then he told about the Bardhaman bomb blasts and the role of the module he had led –by then he was given some sort of charge of West Bengal too. He referred to many names –one Sariful Islam, then one Simulia madrasa, and so on. He told how they listen to zakir Hussain’s rabid sermons. The Bardhaman blast case was, and now is, well known and I am not going to repeat them. Accused were already convicted.
But one thing I can tell that he made no bones while admitting that the JMB had already by then (2016) more than 150 modules – with minimum 10-12 members each. In some modules women were also recruited—some of them get married to the JMB operatives. They were also frequent visitor to Bangladesh.
The youth was, in fact, singing like a canary. It seemed he was eager to spill out all the beans he had. It could very well be a well-rehearsed trick also. Since the agencies already by then knew everything he had just played it cool and told without hiding anything to evade suspicion—or may be a good slap from those muscular non-nonsense men, afterwards. He was smart enough to understand that by then he was already a ‘gone case’ and nothing to lose—then why invite troubles and thrashings.
Actually I did not ask him many question. He ended his stories – with some intermittent and obviously repeated before- questions from the Boss. But when he made the confession that he was also trained in high power IEDs, I asked him the first question : Have you been trained by Abdul Karim Tunda ?
He said, he did not know anyone by the name—there were one or two Abdul Karim but not ‘Tunda’. Then I asked have you ever been trained in Chittagong by an old bearded man without left hand –called ‘Baba’? –the man whom all respected very much ?
Zahid , as it seemed, got a shock. This was for the first time I could see he faced something unusual a question and it hit him like a bolt from blue. He stared at me in total disbelief .
–Sir, you know him ?
— Yes, of course. This old man used to visit Hathazari , is not it ?
— Sir, yes, yes..But how you know him ?
— tell me whether he trained you ?
— No Sir, not directly. I was trained by his disciples, But, yes, I have seen him several times and he is very respected. We used to call him Baba, yes …We know he was the best bomb maker. How you know him Sir ?
–Yes, he is. Your ‘Baba’ was actually Abdul Karim Tunda considered as the best explosive expert.
In fact Tunda -a carpenter turned LeT operative from Delhi- was considered to be an extremely dangerous and unparalleled in his expertise in explosives devices among all the Islamic terrorist organizations of Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and even some other countries. He was responsible for series of bomb blasts since 1993 in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and other places. He due to his expertise was close to almost all terrorist organizations including Jaish e Mohammed, Indian Mujahideen, Babbar Khalsa he was close with ISI, Hafeez Sayed, Dawood Ibrahim et al. He operated right from Sudan to Gulf countries to Indian subcontinent. He married thrice, last being in Pakistan. After Interpol Red corner notice he vanished and then surfaced in Bangladesh and from there he started training the HUJI-B, JMB, neo JMB and others how to make explosives of different kinds. His one more important task was to create a terrorist network and also to train among the Rohingyas in Myanmar from Bangladesh.And that is why he got settled in Chittagong. He was called ‘Tunda’ because while making a bomb he had lost his left hand. Once in 2000 a body similar to that of him without left hand was found on a railway track- apparently garroted- in Khulna and it was believed that Abdul Karim Tunda was killed. But later Indian agencies discovered he was very much active in Bangladesh. In any case Abdul Karim Tunda was arrested by Delhi police at the tip off of the RAW from Nepal border Banwasa-Mehendarnagar in August 2013 in a mysterious condition. He was carrying Pakistani passport (AC 4413161) issued that year only in the name of ‘Abdul Quddus’.
I had a feeling that my question relating to Abdul Karim Tunda and his association with this group could be a revelation to the Boss and his people too. Because it was at that time the Boss told me he would discuss the matter with me later and the man who was taking note became, as it appeared to me, more attentive.
I was asking him questions in Bengali, often switching over to Assamese (because he said he was based in Assam for several years), then Hindi too. It was only for simple prank to confuse him a bit more. Zahid told – as I said, in fact sang like a canary, with so many details that it was not at all possible to remember without taking any note—and I was not taking any.
But at the end it was an eye opener indeed—I got some ideas as to how deep the JMB penetrated into Indian cities and how efficiently they were managing them—with utmost professionalism.
This Zahid or Hafizur or whatever his name was –was also calculative even with handcuffs and rope in his waist. Once when the Boss went out to his chamber to sign some files and I was alone in the room with a cup of coffee, he made a request—Sir , will you please tell this Sir (the Boss) to take me under his wing—I can help him bust all the modules, I can give him all the names and lead him to arrest them all- if he releases me .. Before I could say anything I saw the ever silent stony face man holding the rope pulled it hard and Zahid taken aback fell quiet. There are many ways the security/ investigation agency people know how to tell—don’t try to get pally or personal when you are in our custody.
Today I suddenly remembered this JMB character – I think he was already convicted by NIA court along with 33 others-as there were reports JMB was trying to intensify its activities in the subcontinent, especially in Bangladesh and India after Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. I did not dwell on the details of the JMB- its birth, roles, activities, ideas, leaders etc as it was all there in open public forum I just confined my narration only to my brief personal experience with one of the trained terrorists of the JMB.
Well, I might not have not taken notes and recorded the first Islamic terrorist’s statements whom I met, I did one thing though—with a request to the Boss I got two copies of DABIQ –the ISIS mouthpiece from his personal collections where details of ISIS plan for India/ Bangladesh/ Myanmar strategies ( Khorasan) were clearly written. In Facebook earlier I posted three articles from them with photographs, I plan to write two more—one on India and one on Bangladesh- in view of the changing scenario of Afghanistan.
