At least two suspects escape Madhabdi militant den

At least two suspects have managed to flee one of the militant dens raided in Narsingdi on Tuesday, according to police sources. 

The escapees are Khadija Akter Meghla's husband Rakibul Hasan; and Alamin, the son of  Haji Afzal Hossain—owner of Nilufa Villa.

On condition of anonymity, a high official of the police, on Thursday, told the Dhaka Tribune that Rakibul had been staying at the militant den in Narsingdi's Madhabdi area, but had stepped out of the building when it was cordoned off by law enforcement agencies. 

Meanwhile, Alamin also fled during raid, before having come to the police’s attention. He had reportedly helped the militants rent the building. 

When contacted, Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) Unit's Additional Deputy Commissioner Abdul Mannan said efforts to identify, and arrest, all associates of the militants arrested at the militant hideout, were underway.

Narsingdi Police Super Saifullah Al Mamun said two separate cases have been filed over Tuesday’s militant raids in the Bhagirathpur and Madhabdi areas of Narsingdi.

Two female militants, Khadija Akter Meghla, 25 and Moushumi Akhter Mou, 24, surrendered at the Madhabdi den. After police produced them before the court, on a 15-day remand petition, each was placed on a seven-day remand.

In the raid at Bhagirathpur, two militants – husband and wife Abdullah Al Bangali and Aklima Akhter Moni – were killed. Their bodies have been sent to Narsingdi Sadar Hospital for autopsy. Abdullah was the head of the New Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh’s (JMB) media section.

Police sources said Abdullah was in the process of facilitating the marriage between Madhabdi den militant Mou and an absconding male militant. The two were to be married via video conference.

They added that the militants detained from the Madhabdi den had provided the names of some of their associates, and the information provided was in the process of being verified.

Earlier, in 2016, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested four female militants – Aklima Akhter Moni, Khadija Akter Meghla, Moushumi Akhter Mou, and Ishtina Akter Oishi – in Dhaka and Gazipur on August 14 and 15. Oishi was an intern at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), while the other three were students of Manarat International University, RAB sources said.

Aklima, Khadija, and Mou later secured bail and became more active militants. Aklima is an advisor of the New JMB Women's Unit, they added.

During the initial arrest, RAB seized a laptop and mobile phone from the arrestees, and also recovered an audio message. Upon investigation, it was revealed that the women were campaigning on behalf of the New JMB Women's Unit through the Ummah Tawhid and Ansar Islamia apps. They were also recruiters for Hizb ut-Tahrir, said RAB.  

Militant Abu Abdullah Al Bangali rarely visited his village

Our Jhenaidah correspondent said Abu Abdullah Al Bangali's name is Golam Mostofa alias Rubel. He is the son of Robiul Islam, who lives at Bejpara village in Kaliganj Upazila of Jhenaidah. His mother’s name is Morjina Begum. 

Abdullah studied till class XI at Mahtab Uddin Degree College in Kaliganj. He passed his SSC exam at the village’s government primary school and secondary school. Later, he enrolled in Jessore MM College.

Abdullah rarely visited his village after leaving Jhenaidah in 2014. He used to work at a broadband internet organization in Jessore. He married Aklima five months ago.

After the marriage, the couple visited Abdullah’s father-in-law’s house in Dhaka and stayed there for three days. Subsequently, they were traceless.

Abdul Mannan, stepfather of Abdullah, visited Narshingdi after hearing the news of the raid. 

Kaliganj police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Yunuch Ali said Abdullah’s mother Morzina Begum, and Abdul Mannan were brought to the police station for interrogation.