DHAKA â Police in the southern Barguna district town have filed a sedition case against 33 suspected Islamist militants arrested Wednesday at a mosque during a combat training exercise. Officers have asked a magistrate for a 5-day remand order for six of the accused, including the imam of Barguna Police Line Mosque and a teacher at a local madrassa. Police sources said three suspicious persons carrying powerful wireless sets came to the town by ferry Wednesday morning, presumably to train the militants. The imam of Khejurtala Mosque, who helped police make the arrests, said the combat training took place between 1 a.m. and Fajr prayers. Intelligence sources said militants have been active in Barguna for eight years. In the past a number of extremists have been arrested during combat drills, records show. In 1996, police arrested and detained 22 people with dummy rifles at Bhupati Madrassa in the Keora-Bunia area. However, they were later released without charge. Last year, four people were arrested during another training exercise in the Badurtola area of the district. A case filed at the time is still awaiting trial and one of the accused, Abdul Haque Abbasi, who was out on bail, is among the 33 arrested on Wednesday.
Police said they interrogated the 33, who looked relaxed during their court appearance. âWe are not atheists, so we are not worried about being arrested. Allah will save us,â Mostafa, the arrested madrassa teacher, told reporters. US Ambassador to Bangladesh Harry K. Thomas last week expressed regret that the government was soft on the rise of religious militancy in the country. But a police spokesman denied allegations of political influence and said the law would take its own course. |