Jamaat ameer knew his son's militancy ties: Police
Two more members of new militant outfit Jama’atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya were arrested
The arrested Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer (chief) Shafiqur Rahman was aware of his son's involvement with the new militant outfit Jama'atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya, claimed the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).
"Shafiqur Rahman admitted to knowing about his son Rafat Sadik Saifullah's militant activities but he did not inform the law enforcement which is a crime," CTTC chief of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Md Asaduzzaman told reporters at the DMP Media Centre in Dhaka on Thursday.
The special anti-terrorism unit, however, did not find any links between the Jamaat ameer and the militant outfit even though it initially claimed.
In a post-arrest brief on 13 December, the CTTC Chief claimed that Dr Shafiqur Rahman has inspired and also financed 11 youths who left home for so-called 'Jihad' on behalf of the Jama'atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya for joining Kuki-Chin National Army's training camp in the deep forest of Bandarban.
Shafiqur Rahman was arrested from his residence in the capital's Bashundhara area on 13 December.
Later, he was shown arrested in a case lodged under Anti-Terrorism Act with the capital's Jatrabari police station.
His son Rafat Sadik Saifullah was also shown arrested in the case on 9 November. Rafat was arrested in Sylhet along with his associate on charges of militant activities.
At the same briefing, the CTTC chief also informed that they have also arrested two more members of Jama'atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya – Saiful Islam Tuhin, 21, and Md Naeem Hossain, 22 – from different parts of the country on 21 December.
Additional Commissioner Md Asaduzzaman said Saiful Islam Tuhin left his Sylhet home on 15 November last year in the guise of joining Tableeg-E Jamaat. After two weeks, his family filed a general diary with the Osmaninagar Police Station.
Another arrestee, Md Naeem Hossain is a fourth-semester diploma student at the Agriculture Training Institute (ATI) in Dhaka. On 2 October of last year, he left his dormitory and the next day his family filed a missing diary with the Sher-e Banglanagar police station.
Both of them went to Bandarban and joined Jama'atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya's training camp which was run by the separatist group Kuki-Chin National Front, the CTTC chief added.