Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) has arrested seven people, including four who went missing from their homes in Cumilla and elsewhere with suspected ties to radical groups, during raids in and around Dhaka.
The arrestees were identified as: Hossain Ahmed, 33, son of Maulana Abu Taher, Nesar Uddin alias Umayer, 34, son of Matier Rahman, Bani Amin, 27, son of Delwar Hossain, and Md Sabit, 19, son of Hasan Mir — all from Patuakhali district; Imtiaz Ahmed rifat, 19, son of Foyez Ahmed, and Hasibul Islam, 20, son of Shahab Uddin from Cumilla; and Roman Shikdar, 24, son of Anis Shikdar of Gopalganj.
Tipped off, a team of Rab-11 conducted separate drives in Munshiganj, Narayanganj and Mymensingh districts and arrested them.
Also read: 7 young men missing from Cumilla since Aug 23
The elite force also seized some leaflets, books on radical views and a tab from the arrestees, said Commander Khandaker Al Moin, director of Rab’s legal and Media Wing, while briefing reporters in Dhaka’s Karwan Bazar.
“Among the eight young men missing from Cumilla, Sartaz Islam Niloy, 22, returned to his Kalyanpur home on Septmeber 1 and later Rab took him into custody. Following interrogation, Rab came to know details on others,” he said.
“Four students left their homes to join the new militant group ‘Jamatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharkia’, formed by banned militant groups Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), Ansar Al Islam and Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami Bangladesh (HuJI-B),” he added.
They were trained in char areas in Bhola and Patuakhali districts and so far 15-20 people have joined the new group, said Moin.
Seven students, aged 17-25, belonging to different institutions in Cumilla have been missing since August 23. They all knew each other, and left home without their mobile phones. A general diary was lodged with Kotwali Model Police in this regard.
After that, reports came to light of seven more youths missing from Patuakhali, Dhaka, Narayanganj and Gopalganj for two to three months under similar circumstances.
Besides, four youths from Sylhet have been missing since 15 November last year.