The leaders of banned militant outfit Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh are now luring teenagers and youths by offering them handsome amount of money and pledging to take all responsibilities of their families for taking part in killing missions as part of its endeavour to establish Caliphate.
They are also offering complete legal support for the members caught by the law enforcers. The jihadists are told that if they die while carrying out their duty, their families would be taken care of by the group – a style adopted by Islamic Chhatra Shibir, the radical student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami.
After the recruitment, they are given training on using machetes and small arms, ways to evade arrest and keeping the mouth shut in front of the law enforcers.
Investigators have learnt about such techniques interrogating Ghulam Faizullah Fahim, a teenager caught while fleeing after hacking a Hindu college teacher in Madaripur town on Wednesday. Two of his associates could not be identified or arrested until yesterday.
Fahim, 18, was confident when he was taken to the police station. “Nothing will happen to men. You will not be able to keep me in custody for long,” he told the people in a loud voice.
Police later found that these attackers were given a good amount of money to conduct the attack in Madaripur.
“There is no doubt that these youths have got money to take part in the attack, but we are yet to learn about the amount and concrete information about their leaders,” Ziaul Morshed, OC of Sadar police, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
A student of Rajuk Uttara Model School and College, Fahim left the house on June 11 in the middle of his HSC examinations informing his father in an SMS that he was going abroad. Police said Fahim and five others were involved in the attack, some of who are local youths while one from Rajshahi.
Fahim was earlier involved with Chhatra Shibir and later joined Hizb ut-Tahrir being inspired by the activities of international militant group Islamic State.
But during interrogation in custody, he gave the investigators wrong and misleading information about his associates, leaders and their dens in Madaripur, Dhaka, Barisal, Chapainawabganj and Rajshahi.
Fahim said that their task was to collect information on the attacks, and send photos and the information to their seniors which would be sent to the IS representatives. Once they are done, they are asked to wait until further instruction.
Monirul Islam, chief of DMP’s Counter-Terrorism and Transitional Crimes Unit, said that a number of Jamaat-Shibir leader were working behind the recent attacks and target killings of secularists, religious minorities and LGBT rights activists.
This is for the first time the police have learned about the involvement of Hizb ut-Tahrir members in any targeted killing. This international group, which started activities in Bangladesh in 2000, was declared outlawed in 2009 for its anti-state activities. In 2012, its members were involved in a failed coup in the army.
A leader of the group, Shafiur Rahman Farabi, was arrested last year for instigating the murder of secular writer Avijit Roy.
Two intelligence reports recently said that over 100 members of the outlawed group had taken training to wage an armed revolution together with some members of Chhatra Shibir and other banned organisations.
Moreover, some 450 leaders and activists of the organisation have remained absconding after getting bail which they termed alarming.
The reports also suggest that its members were also involved in the recent targeted killings of secularists, LGBT rights activists and religious minorities.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
