Burdwan blast suspect was ‘robber at night’

Habibur Rehman, a 28-year-old man from West Bengal, who was arrested in Doddaballapur on June 25 in the 2014 Burdwan blast case, may have committed robberies and dacoities in Bengaluru, police said.

Rehman is accused of being associated with the proscribed Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and is also wanted in robbery cases registered at Attibele, Amruthahalli and three other police stations in the city.

Police suspect Rehman had roped in his associate Muneer for committing the robberies at night. During the day, his vocation was moving around on a bicycle selling phenol and clothes. Police believe he wanted to generate funds for the JMB. They have also found that Rehman had obtained an Aadhaar card by paying Rs 300 to a middleman in Whitefield in 2018.

Police have sent the details of the robberies to the National Investigation Team (NIA), Kolkata, which is probing into the Burdwan blast that left two alleged militants dead. The explosion had occurred at a two-storey building that was allegedly used for making explosives.