The head of the online Dawah branch of banned militant group Ansar-al-Islam has been arrested by the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit (CTTC) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), a senior official said on Monday.

Hasibur Rahman alias Azzam Al Ghalib was captured on Sunday after a special drive in the Abdullahpur embankment area of the capital's Uttara.

Son of Habibur Rahman of Mahipur police station in Patuakhali district, he is a LLB (Honors) 1st year student of Manarat International University.

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Briefing reporters at the DMP's media center on Monday, CTTC chief and Additional Commissioner of the DMP Md Asaduzzaman said Hasibur was introduced with "Zaid Ibne Ali" and "Shafayet Musanna Isa" IDs through telegrams. Then they started propagating the same ideology and member recruitment activities together. Hasibur, along with Zayed and Shafayet, led the online radicalization as the head of the so-called "Tri-Ratne" propagating the ideology of Ansar al-Islam.

The mobile phones seized from the arrested Hasibur were initially searched and various extremist content including Facebook, Messenger, Telegram apps were found. Recently, Al Amin Siddiqui, the operator of "Zayed Ibne Ali" and "Shafayet Musanna Isa" IDs, and Jobaida Siddique Nabila, a female militant, were arrested by CTTC.

Hasibur used to spread various statements of Ansar Al Islam ideology on various social media and online platforms. He had a far-reaching plan and objective to introduce the state system in the shadow of the banned organization Ansar al-Islam. To this end, he radicalized the younger generation by inciting them to violent extremism by posting various descriptions describing the necessity and effectiveness of the so-called armed jihad, the CTTC chief said.

He also said that the arrested militant had been performing the responsibility as the head of the online Dawah branch of the banned militant group Ansar al-Islam.

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He passed SSC in 2016 and while studying higher secondary at Dhaka Oxford International College, when he was introduced to the ideology of violent extremism and militancy. During this time he began to read a large number of extremist books.