A Dhaka court on Monday placed two suspected members of Dawlatul Islam on remand for questioning in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act with Demra police station.
The accused are Jewel Bhuiyan, 27, alias Ustad, and Md Arif Chowdhury, 24.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Jamshed Alam passed the order on Monday, August 17, following a remand petition filed by the investigation officer.
Prosecution Sub-Inspector Mohin Uddin said the court granted three days of remand for Jewel Bhuiyan and two days for Arif Chowdhury.
Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU) Sub-Inspector Md Rafiqul Islam, also the investigation officer, produced the two accused before the court and sought 10 days of remand for questioning.
According to the remand petition, the ATU received confidential information on Sunday afternoon that several people had gathered in the Sarulia area of Demra with explosives, allegedly planning subversive activities aimed at threatening public safety and damaging state property.
Using information technology, police later traced the two accused to an area in front of a tea stall on Gariber Newaz Mosque Road in West Boxnagar, Sarulia.
Police said Jewel Bhuiyan was arrested during the operation, while Arif Chowdhury was arrested after allegedly attempting to flee and being caught about 8-10 yards away.
Police also claimed that two live bombs fitted with detonators and wrapped in black electrical tape were recovered from the accused.
As the devices posed a threat to public safety, the Bomb Disposal Unit of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit went to the scene and disposed of them.
Police later seized two mobile phones, a gas lighter and other evidence from the accused. The remand petition said information obtained from the phones and other seized items could be important to the investigation.
Police further claimed that during preliminary questioning, the accused identified themselves as active members of Dawlatul Islam.
According to the remand petition, they had gathered at the location after being inspired by the organization’s ideology and allegedly planned activities aimed at disrupting public safety, destabilizing the country and carrying out sabotage and terrorist activities.
The police sought remand to establish the circumstances of the case, identify and arrest others allegedly involved, obtain the names and addresses of absconding accused and gather further information about the alleged plans for sabotage.
The accused had no lawyer representing them at the hearing.
ATU Sub-Inspector Palash Ali filed the case with Demra police station on Sunday.
