Militants tried to cross Cumilla border, police suspect

The nationwide manhunt for two condemned militants, who escaped from a Dhaka court two days ago, continued on Tuesday as investigators said they were not sure about the exact location of the escapees.

After escaping the court, the death-row militants went to Dhaka's Jatrabari and then crossed the River Shitalakshya by a boat, according to a police source close to the investigation.

"Subsequently, they tried to cross the border at the Cumilla-Agartala point," said the official, adding that police were still searching for the current location of the escapees.

However, both police and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) claimed they have identified the mastermind and the associates who were involved in Sunday's snatching of the militants.

An additional superintendent of police related to the investigation told The Business Standard that a group of 15-10 men, believed to be members of the banned militant outfit Ansar-Al-Islam, carried out the operation plan inside the prison two-three months earlier.

"During the operation, around 20 members of the militant outfit took positions on main roads and at nearby allies in different groups. They had been reccying the area, maintaining communications among members and used eight motorbikes to execute the final plan," said the official.

On Sunday noon, the two convicts – Moinul Hasan Shamim and Abu Siddiq Sohel – condemned to death in the murder of a publisher fled from a Dhaka court after their guards were incapacitated with chemical spray.

According to witnesses, two motorbike riders came in and blinded the cops by spraying their faces when the officers were carrying out the convicts.

Subsequently, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan ordered a nationwide manhunt for the escapees and offered a Tk20 lakh bounty for information leading to their capture. He said the borders were sealed so that the militants cannot escape the country.

While talking to reporters on Tuesday, Mohammad Ali Miah, additional inspector general of police and also the chief of Criminal Investigation Department (CID), said they could not foil the operation as militants use encrypted mobile apps to communicate.

Following Sunday's militant escape, police recommended the prison authorities to put the militants, high-profile prisoners and persons convicted in multiple cases on shackles during their transport to and from the court – as mentioned in the jail code and prisoners' guidelines.

Jasim Uddin, deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police's (DMP) prosecution division, said they have sent a letter to the prison authorities in this regard.

"The escape could have been averted if they were on shackles. We have sent a letter to the prison authorities to take steps in this regard," the police official told The Business Standard.

Police also recommended transporting high-profile prisoners by separate prison vans.

In a separate development on Tuesday, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the escape confuted the government's "good governance" claim.

"The militants are now escaping in front of their eyes, demonstrating how good they are at governing the country," he commented.