Jail escapee Jewel arrested with bombs in Demra

Jewel Bhuiyan alias Ostad, a suspected militant who escaped from Narsingdi District Jail, has been arrested with two homemade bombs in Dhaka’s Demra, police said.

Police said the two bomb-like objects recovered from Jewel in Sarulia were hand-made explosive devices. They also described him as a close associate of Nazmul Hasan Mamun alias Bombaru Mamun, a suspected bomb-maker associated with the Neo-JMB.

Jewel was among nine suspected militants who escaped from Narsingdi District Jail following a riot on July 19, 2024. Police recaptured him six days later, on July 25. He was later released on bail around September following the change of government in August.

Jewel was arrested from West Nijhumbagh in Sarulia on Sunday afternoon during a joint operation by police and the Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU), based on information that he was staying in the area. Another person was also detained during the operation.

Mohsin Masud, additional deputy commissioner of DMP’s Demra Zone, said two homemade bombs were recovered from Jewel.

Police later searched the house where he had been staying. The DMP Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit’s bomb disposal team subsequently neutralised the two devices.

According to police, Jewel was arrested as part of an ongoing investigation into several incidents involving bomb recoveries and attacks on law enforcement.

Police said Mamun and his associates have been linked to several incidents, including a bomb explosion while explosives were allegedly being made at a madrasa in Keraniganj in December 2025, an attack on police during a search in Jatrabari in February, an explosion at a temple in Cumilla in March and a bomb blast during a police search in Sayedabad in the same month.

Jewel was among 826 prisoners, including nine suspected militants, who escaped from Narsingdi District Jail after it was attacked and set on fire during violence surrounding the quota reform movement on July 19, 2024. The attackers also looted 85 firearms and around 8,150 rounds of ammunition from the prison armoury and guards.

SKS