‘Militancy’ links: Cops sue 35 Bangladeshi expatriates

Police's Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU) has filed a case against 35 Bangladeshi expatriates for their alleged links to an internationally banned militant outfit.

These Bangladeshis reportedly collected funds for the outfit while staying in Malaysia, according to ATU officials.

The ATU lodged the case with the Airport Police Station under the Anti-Terrorism Act on July 5.

The development came to light after three of the 35 -- Nazrul Islam Shohag, Mohammad Redwanul Islam, and Jahed Ahmed -- were deported by the Malaysian authorities and later arrested by the ATU at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on July 3.

Earlier, the Malaysian police disclosed through a media briefing that they had arrested 36 Bangladeshi expatriates on allegations of collecting funds on behalf of the militant outfit.

However, the ATU case names 35 individuals, stating that they were detained by the Malaysian authorities between April 28 and June 21 this year.

Asked why the case names 35 while the Malaysian authorities mentioned 36, a senior ATU official said, "Our case is based on what we learnt during interrogation of the three deported Bangladeshis. We are not aware of what the Malaysian authorities have said."

KM Tariqul Islam, the ATU inspector investigating the case, said they have information that eight of the 35 accused, including the three deportees, returned home.

Another of the deportees, Mahfuj, returned on June 19, and the ATU arrested him from his home in Cumilla's Muradnagar upazila on July 7, Tariqul said.

Yesterday, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Minhazur Rahman placed the four arrestees on a four-day remand after Inspector Tariqul produced them before the court, seeking a seven-day remand for each, said a court staffer.

According to the police forwarding report submitted to the court, primary interrogation revealed that the accused had been inspired by the ideology of the banned militant outfit. They then aligned themselves with the outfit and had been involved in its activities for long while in Malaysia.

The report mentioned that the accused used Malaysian IP addresses to recruit members and spread propaganda through social media platforms operated by some Bangladeshis.

Intelligence findings further indicated that the group conducted oath-taking ceremonies, held religious discussions, and arranged secret virtual meetings via social media to promote the organisation's ideology and plans.

As active members of the organisation, the accused reportedly collected funds through donations and sent the money abroad using e-wallets and international money-transfer services.

Each member also paid an annual subscription fee of 500 Malaysian Ringgit to the group.

"Primary findings show they used various social media platforms, as well as messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Telegram, to recruit new members. So, the Malaysian police have begun repatriating the arrested and fugitive suspects to their countries," the forwarding report added.

"Based on information, we have also managed to arrest another FIR-listed accused, Emon Mohiduzzamna, and are conducting drives to arrest three others," Inspector Tariqul told The Daily Star last night.

However, the ATU did not mention the militant outfit's name in the report.

Addressing the media on Sunday, Home Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said the deportation of suspected extremists from Malaysia does not indicate any operational connection to terrorist networks within Bangladesh.

"We have not received any official communication suggesting they were involved in militancy. Our foreign ministry has already issued a press release clarifying the situation. As far as we know, three individuals were deported due to overstaying their visas," he said after a visit to the export cargo village of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and the BADC cold storage facility in Dhaka.