Hizb-ut Towhid gears up activity in S-W districts
Islamist outfit Hizb-ut Towhid has geared up activities in several districts of Khulna division.
According to law enforcement agencies, at least 12,000 members of the organisation are active in Khulna, Bagerhat, Kushtia, Jhenidah, Meherpur, Khulna and Chuadanga districts.
Although the organisation is not officially banned, the law enforcers from May 6-23 arrested 32 Hizb-ut men, including six female activists, raiding different areas of these districts.
Of them, seven were arrested in Daulatpur upazila while eight in Khoksa upazila of Kushtia on May 6. Three were arrested in Bagerhat on May 8 and three in Khulna on May 12. Six female activists were arrested in Jibonnagar and Damurhuda upazilas of Chuadanga on May 17 and May 23 and the rest five were arrested in Moheshpur upazila of Jhenidah district on May 21.
Law enforcers also seized books on jihad (Islamic uprising), leaflets and posters from their possession.
Most of the arrestees are madrasa students, unemployed youths belonging to poor families and imams of mosques, police said, adding that a good number of women are also working with this outfit.
Police said all the seized books were written by Bayezid Khan Panni , founder of the Islamist organisation.
Sources in the law enforcement agencies said the Hizb-ut men are trying to reorganise in the south-western districts after the death of their leader Bayezid Khan Panni of Tangail.
They carry out secret operations in the name of “dawat” (religious discussion) in different parts of the districts and distribute books on jihad and leaflets among the locals, sources added.
Contacted, Police Superintendent Mirza Abdullahil Baki of Meherpur district said a good number of families in Gangni upazila are involved with this organsiation.
Kushtia Police Superintendent Mofiz Uddin Ahmed told this correspondent that law enforcers have been asked to keep watch on the activities of the Hizb-ut men.
According to police records, Hizb-ut Towhid men clashed with locals at Poradah Bazar in Mirpur upazila of Kushtia on September 9, 2003. Police arrested 43 operatives of the organisation in connection with the clash. Later, they were released from jail.
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