| I think of them as synonyms, myself... |
The law enforcers are on the hunt for the associates of Mufti Abdul Hannan, a leader of the banned Islamist outfit Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami. A Rapid Action Battalion said they had been conducting drive since the arrest of the militant leader. Hannan, also prime accused in a case related to the attempted assassination of former prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, was placed on a 10-day remand on Sunday in connection with the August 17 countrywide bomb blasts at Tejgaon in Dhaka.The Task Force for Investigation members have been interrogating Hannan in a RAB office at Uttara. Hannan reportedly named some of his associates, but did not say anything about his involvement in the August 17 blasts. He also kept silent about his expertise in bomb-making and the assassination attempt. The sources said three banned Islamist outfits — Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh of Shaikh Abdur Rahman and Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh of Siddiqul Islam Bangla Bhai — jointly carried out the attacks to ‘establish Islamic rule.’ Hannan earlier had meetings with the two other militant outfit chiefs in his Gopalganj house for several times, the sources said. After the August 17 blasts, Hannan again went to his village home and celebrated the event by sacrificing animals.
The battalion personnel, meanwhile, till Wednesday failed to arrest Shakil, who reportedly introduced himself as the nephew of former home minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury and financed Hannan during his hiding. ‘The mystery would be cracked if the law enforcers could arrest Shakil,’ the sources said.
In Khagrachhari, the police submitted the charge sheet of the August 17 blast to court on Wednesday, accusing 14 people, including Shaikh Abdur Rahman and Bangla Bhai. Investigation officer Abul Kalam Azad, also officer-in-charge of the Khagrachari police, filed the charge sheet. Out of the ten arrested, nine have made statements in the court. The other four accused — Shaikh Abdur Rahman, Bangla Bhai, Belal and Monju — are yet to be arrested. In Chittagong, two militants, arrested during bombing incidents in the Chittagong court building on Monday, revealed important information on Wednesday, the first day of their 10-day remand, the police said.
The CMP assistant commissioner, Mosharraf Hossain Miazee, told New Age that they had conducted three drives in Cox’s Bazar, at Chakaria bus stand and in the Paithong hilly area at Lama. ‘But no militants were arrested as they left the hideouts after the blasts.’ Mosharraf said the arrested were giving more important leads regarding the militancy. The police declined to elaborate further in the interest of investigation. A source in the interrogation cell said Shahdat and Laltu said more attacks would be launched at court buildings in future and in the next phase, suicide bombers of Shahid-Nasrullah-Al Arif Brigade of Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh would be in operation. In Chandpur, the police arrested three more JMB activists, Zakir Hasan, Kausar and Mahfuz, from Barura in Comilla and Kachua and Hajiganj in Chandpur on Wednesday.