Police have arrested a suspected operative of banned militant outfit Hizb ut-Tahrir in Ukhiya upazila, Cox's Bazar.
A team of police’s Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU) apprehended HM Mehedi Rana, 30, in Jamtoli area of Palongkhali union at around 3pm on Wednesday.
A resident of Patuakhali, Rana used to live at a rented house of Abu Taher, an expatriate at Saudi Arabia, in Palongkhali.
Confirming the arrest, ATU Assistant Superintendent of Police Wahida Parvin said Mehedi had been playing an active role in the IT sector of the militant outfit.
"Evidence of his involvement in the outfit's online conferences and campaigns has also been found," she added.
ASP Wahida Parvin said Mehedi completed his Bachelor of Science (BSc) in civil engineering from Fareast International University in Dhaka.
He has been working at Brac, the NGO, as an assistant technical officer for the last three years, the police official added.
A case was being processed against him under the Anti-Terrorism Act with Ukhiya police station when this report was filed Friday morning.
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.
Brac issued a statement regarding this incident on Friday.
"We are informed about the fact that one of our contractual staff based in Cox’s Bazar has been taken to police custody. Since the matter is under investigation, we cannot make any comment on it right now. We will assist law enforcement agencies with all types of support that is needed. We cannot disclose anything more with respect to individual privacy," the statement said.
