2 'outlaws' killed in 'gunfight' with Rab

An alleged regional leader of Purbo Banglar Communist Party (PBCP-ML) and "his close associate" were killed following, what Rab claimed, a gunfight the law enforcers had with the outlawed outfit in Jhenidah's Kotchandpur upazila early yesterday.

The deceased are Mohidul Islam alias Rana, 42, son of Fakir Chand of Bakshipur village, and Alim Uddin, 55, son of Solaiman Hossain of Baharampur village.

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A 9mm pistol, 15 bullets and a sharp weapon were recovered from the spot, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab)-6 Company Commander Maj Monir Ahmed told our Jhenidah correspondent.

Three Rab members who suffered "cuts" during the gunfight were treated at Kotchandpur Upazila Health Complex, he added.

However, Mohidul's sister-in-law Saira Khatun told journalists at the Jhenidah Sadar Hospital morgue that Mohidul had been picked up by law enforcers from Bagharpara in Jessore some 25 days ago.

She said to have heard about the deaths yesterday morning.

Kotchandpur police informed that Alim was accused in 15 cases, including 12 over murders, filed in Jhenidah while Rana in 14 cases, several of which are over murder.

Maj Monir said Rab cordoned off a field in Bamdagali village around Other banned outfits which exist on Facebook at a smaller scale include Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Tehreek-e-Taliban Swat, Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi, Jamat-ul-Ahrar, 313 Brigade, multiple Shia outfits and a host of Baloch separatist organisations.

An examination of some user profiles linked to these banned outfits indicates open support of sectarian and extremist ideology. A few of these profiles have also publicly 'liked' pages and groups related to weapons use and training.

While some of the Facebook pages and groups claim to be 'official' representatives of the outfits, others appear to be managed by members and supporters in ideological agreement.

The content shared on their forums is varied. Although there are occasional posts in the form of text or status updates, the more common updates feature photos, videos and memes shared to explain and elaborate on the outfit's ideology; provide updates on recent or ongoing events and on-ground activity; and encourage private contact and recruitment of motivated Facebook users.

In general, the Facebook updates are in Urdu or Roman Urdu rather than English, suggesting the content is primarily for local consumption. A very small number are in Sindhi or Balochi, also indicating a niche target audience.

OPEN SPREAD OF IDEOLOGY

Invariably, most of the Facebook pages and groups glorify existing leaders or those killed in the past while some banned outfits also campaign for the release of their activists or leaders.

In their Facebook updates, all banned outfits place blame on the state, or, in the case of outfits focused on Kashmir, on India. In rare cases, pages and groups linked to these banned outfits share graphic content depicting acts of violence — including photos and videos of bodies.

The more organised outfits appear to have 'official' media cells sharing press releases and religious sermons or political speeches as both audio and video. Such pages and groups also share links from websites, blogs or Twitter accounts that appear to be run by members of these outfits. The content in general includes anti-state propaganda or hate speech directed at religious minorities and other members of society.

TIP OF THE ICEBERG

At all times, members and supporters of these banned outfits operating on Facebook have the option to shift communication from public to private.

Any user linked to, or interested in a proscribed organisation can be friend and chat with like-minded users, message those operating the pages and groups or click the provided links to websites and blogs. To establish contact off Facebook, all they would need to do is use the publicly listed email addresses or local phone numbers provided by some outfits.

The findings of this investigation are just the tip of the iceberg however, as a far larger number of pages and groups could exist without publicly using the name of the banned organisation in order to operate in secret.