Banned militant outfit Hizb ut-Tahrir held their scheduled online political conference Friday afternoon vowing to establish Khalifah (caliphate) in the country.
Detectives observed the online session where five leaders of the outfit spoke after 3:30pm, and identified those involved with the anti-state activities.
DB Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam said that they had not interrupted for the sake of investigation. “The five persons who conducted the programme, held somewhere in Dhaka, have been traced.”
Some 500 persons participated in the event, most of who were police members and journalists. “We will take action against the other participants too,” Monirul said.
On August 23, DB police picked up two members of the militant group in Dakkhinkhan area and two female members from Uttara area for distributing leaflets urging people to join the online conference.
After the arrests, Hizb ut-Tahrir threatened the government with worse consequences.
Recently, the authorities of Dhaka University and Buet suspended several students for their involvement with the banned organisation.
According to the Anti-Terrorism Act that is applied against outlawed groups, any activity of such organisation – in any form – is considered as anti-state. Despite facing ban, online and offline activities of the group that accepts male and female students mainly of private and public universities was never stopped until date.
They lure the common Muslims to join their movement by shaming the democratic governments terming them corrupt and anti-Islam. They claim that caliphate will ensure justice in the society.
Having branches in a number of countries, Hizb ut-Tahrir started its operation in Bangladesh in 2000 and was banned in 2009 for its involvement in militant activities. Most of its branches in the Middle East are also banned.
Since then they have been campaigning against democratic governments by issuing media releases after holding brief processions and rallies in front of different mosques in the capital, Rajshahi and elsewhere, and pasting posters on the walls in the capital’s different areas especially Mohammadpur.
The DMP spokesperson, Deputy Commissioner Muntasirul Islam, said that they could stop the programme but did not do so so that they could gather more information on the members of the outfit.
He claimed that the organisational strength of Hizb ut-Tahrir was broken due to persistent surveillance and drives. “We need to identify the persons who hold the extremists mentality,” he said.
Detectives earlier said that the Hizb ut-Tahrir members were working in collaboration with the other banned militant groups and radical organisations as their aim is the same – establishing an Islamic state in Bangladesh.
The law enforcers last year arrested around 100 members of the outfit, but no top leader.
The Detective Branch of police in a drive early this month arrested Nurullah Kashemi, a spiritual leader of militant platform Bangladesh Jihadi Group. His name was also found the list of wanted Hizb ut-Tahrir members as a coordinator.
Detectives have also discovered that some of the former Hizb ut-Tahrir members were taking training to join the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
One of their leaders Shafiur Rahman Farabi, whose Facebook profile had become a centre of motivation for the supporters of radical Islamist parties and groups, is now in jail for instigating the murder of secular bloggers.
