Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on Wednesday said four people, including a teenager linked to militant group Jama'atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya, have surrendered voluntarily to the elite force.
They went to the Chittagong Hill Tracts on a Hijrat along with nine others in February last year. Later, they tried to flee the training camp but were caught and tortured in captivity.
The four finally succeeded in March and contacted the families after learning of RAB's legal assistance to the surrendered and misunderstood militants. Then they surrendered at the RAB-11 office on Tuesday night, Commander Khandaker Al Moin, director of the force’s legal and media wing, said at a press conference.
They were identified as Abu Bakkar alias Riyasad Rayyan, 16, from Narayanganj Bandar; Md Hasan Sayeed, 26, and Sheikh Ahmed Mamun, 23, from Osmani Nagar in Sylhet, and Md Yasin, 21, from Madaripur.
Of the four, Rayyan was a school student, Sayeed completed Dawrah Hadith recently, Mamun was a private university student in Sylhet, and Yasin was a watchmaker.
At least 78 leaders and trainees of the militant group, including the ameer, have been arrested during drives by RAB and other security agencies since October last year. The operation was launched after learning about the mysterious disappearance of 55 youths in August last year. The surrendered people were on the list, RAB said.
So far, 48 of the missing youths have been arrested or have surrendered.
"We are working to locate them. Even though the four youths surrendered, there is a case against them. The court will certainly do justice by considering their return. In this case, legal assistance will be provided by RAB," Commander Moin added.