55 missing youths not traced yet: RAB

More than 50 youths who remained missing from different parts of the country actually left their homes after being inspired by the ideals of new militant organisation Jamaatul Ansar Phil Hindal Sharqiya, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) have said.

The whereabouts of these youths have not been traced yet, the elite force said.

RAB fears that any untoward incident can occur at any time as more than 50 who went out of home for "hijrat" have not been traced yet and might be taking training in hilly areas and having heavy weapons.

Keeping probable terrorist attack in the mind, from the last week of September, law enforcement agencies, including Bangladesh Army, started a joint drive against the underground extremists and criminals in the remote areas of hill tracts.

From 6 October, RAB arrested 22 members of Jamaatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya from Munshiganj, Narayanganj, Mymensingh, Rangamati and Bandarban districts and Dhaka's Jatrabari, Keraniganj areas in four phases.  

"A team of RAB-11 and the intelligence wing of RAB headquarters, in an operation, arrested four people, including coordinators of Jamaatul Ansar, from Cumilla's Laksam area on Thursday," said RAB Media Wing Chief Khandaker Al Moin at RAB Media Center on Friday.

The arrestees used to inspire people to militancy, arrange "hijrat" and armed training sessions, he added. 

Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF), a separatist organisation of the hill region, is sheltering, providing training and weapons to the new militant organisation in exchange for a huge amount of money. The place where the training was taking place was deep forest. 

The new militant organisation gave Tk17 lakh to Kuki-Chin in the last eight to nine months to purchase heavy weapons to different locations through banking and mobile banking channels. They are sheltering and providing training to militants for Tk3 lakh per month, the elite force said, quoting arrested militant Muntasir Ahmed, finance and media unit chief of Jamatul Ansar.   

RAB said Jamatul Ansar received donations ranging Tk1 lakh to Tk1,000 from many people of the country. Those donors are divided in three categories. People who provide  Tk1,000 to Tk1 lakh monthly are listed in "A" category donors while those who provide Tk3,000 to Tk10,000 monthly falls in the "B" category and those who gave Tk1,000 to Tk3000 are in the "C" category.

RAB have been working on identifying the financiers of the militant organisation.  They have already grabbed the names of some of them. The elite force is also searching for info on whether the donation money the local financiers are getting from sources of foreign countries.