Manik Hossain, a self-proclaimed Al Qaeda operative who reportedly issued a threat to the British High Commission to blow up American and European missions in Dhaka, was arrested, police said yesterday. Police sources said Manik was run in from Dhaka cityâs Badda area. But they would not confirm whether this is the same Manik who threatened to attack the Western missions. During interrogation, Manik denied threatening to blow up the foreign missions and said his employee might have sent the threat to harass him, a top police official said. âIntelligence agencies are still quizzing him,â the official, who asked not to be named, said.Earlier reports said intelligence agencies launched scouring the Internet Protocol (IP) device to detect the original source of the e-mail message that had threatened to blow up US, UK and other western missions in the name of Islamic militant Al Qaeda network of Asia. Security was beefed up in the diplomatic enclaves of Gulshan and Baridhara following the bombing threat. The British High Commission received the threat through e-mail and fax. W M Stevelson, first secretary to the British High Commission, filed general diary (GD) with Gulshan police station.
Earlier in the day, police arrested three youths, all named Manik, in Chandpur in a frantic manhunt, as someone under the name Manik Hossain sent the threat to the British High Commission. However, all the three Maniks denied their involvement in waging the cyber-war against the westerners. Residents of Khajuria informed police that there are two more youths named Manik in their village, but both now stay in Dhaka.