The trend towards using female operatives in the Islamist militant outfit in the country is alarmingly growing.
The militant outfits are using their female members as a distraction technique to pull the wool over the eyes of law enforcers.
Such tendency is largely adopted by the banned organisation Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). This phenomenon also abounds in West Bengal of India.
The technique is known amongst the militant outfits as couple module. The JMB planned to set up their den in West Bengal by using this technique.
In such module the members of a militant organisation make a pair with one female and one male identifying themselves as husband and wife, said a high official of the Detective Branch of Police yesterday.
Arrested JMB member Sujana in Bardhaman blast case is one of the members of such couple module. His husband is none other than Dr Shanur Alam, the most wanted militant activist on the list of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) of India, said the official.
Brig General M Shakhawat Hossain, a security analyst, said this is not something new in Islamist militant organisations. At least 30-40% such activists could be found in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a now defunct organisation based in northern Sri Lanka.
The LTTE launched a secessionist nationalist campaign to create an independent state in the north and east of Sri Lanka for Tamil people.
“Recently, we have found the trend growing in Bangladesh. Here in our country female operatives are mainly motivated and indoctrinated by their husbands or brothers involved in militancy.”
The trend first came to the notice of law enforcers after the series bomb blast across the country on August 17, 2005.
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) personnel arrested then JMB ameer Abdur Rahman, Siddkul Islam Bangla Bhi and other militants with their wives.
Since then hundreds of women have been arrested by RAB and police who are either wives or sisters or daughters of leaders of militant outfits. Some female members even hold major posts in the organisation, says officials in the RAB and police.
Female operatives are chosen as they are more trustworthy than male ones. The latest report of Indian media says investigators are facing difficulties in extracting information from Bardhaman blast arrestee Sujana Begum.
But it was much easier in case of her male colleague and prime suspect Shaikh Rahmatullah, Indian investigators said.
Investigators found Shakil and Hasem living with their wives Rajia and Amina in the house where the blast took place in West Bengal on October 2.
Another militant Nasirullah set up a den in Beldanga area of Murshidabad with his two wives –Fatem and Manzila.
The NIA investigating the West Bengal blast also found involvement of another 13 couples, according to reports of Indian media.
In 2009, the RAB arrested Boma Mizan and his wife Lota from Shewrapara area of Dhaka with huge explosives. The RAB men had to make the arrest after almost four hours as Boma Mizan’s wife continued to hurl bombs from inside the house.
Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of the DB police, told the Dhaka Tribune, female operatives are mainly found in the JMB and Huji-B in Bangladesh.
These organisations use women to carry arms and bombs as it is easy for them to dodge law enforcers, says the DB chief.
Meanwhile, the five JMB members including Chief Coordinator Abdun Nur arrested by RAB officials from Shirajganj on October 31 were sent to jail yesterday.
Hayder Ali, sub-inspector of Shirajganj Government Railway Police Station, said the arrestees told them that they were planning to resort to destructive activities in bordering areas in Sirajganj as such places have lax security.
