The Bangladesh Police has identified the Gulshan attack mastermind as Bangladesh-origin Canadian citizen Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury.
Officials said Tamim used to visit the Kallyanpur militants in their hideout.
He held meetings with the Kallyanpur militants to inspire them and provide financial support for their terrorist activities, according to the statement of a case filed yesterday by Mirpur Model police station Inspector (operation) Shajalal Alam in connection with Tuesday's police raid which killed nine militants.
The statement also read that the sole surviving suspect, Rakibul Hasan alias Rigan, has told interrogators that they received funding, arms and explosives from Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), reports the Dhaka Tribune.
The case further named other suspects who allegedly acted as trainers and leaders for the militants; they are: Iqbal, Ripon, Khalid, Mamun, Manik, Jonayed Khan, Badal and Azadul alias Kabiraz.
Police's counter-terrorism chief Monirul Islam said that efforts are on to find out the true identities of these people and trace them.
Reportedly, the Gulshan attack mastermind Tamim has been working as a link between foreign and domestic militant groups and was hiding in Bangladesh ever since he left Canada in 2013.
Monirul Islam described Tamim as the leader of a new faction of JMB.
According to the investigators, JMB now has two factions: one led by JMB's jailed spiritual leader Mawlana Saidur Rahman, while Tamim took over the other faction after coming back to Bangladesh.
