M Faruque Hossain :
Police have framed charge-sheets against 23 out of 32 Bangladeshi expatriates who were deported from Singapore for their involvement in militant activities.
Charge sheets will be submitted against them very soon, said Counter Terrorism and Trans-national Unit (CTTU). Most of them have link with Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), a banned militant outfit.
CTTU sources said, they stayed in Singapore about four to eight years. They were involved in terror activities during their stay in Singapore. Two separate cases were filed against them with Uttara (East) Police Station and Rampura Police Station.
A case was filed with Uttara (East) Police Station against 15 people for their link with ABT in anti-terrorism Acts. They have been interrogated by the ditectives.
They admitted their allegiance to ABT Chief Mufti Jasim Uddin Rahmani, who is now in jail on charge of killing blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider in 2013. But their link with so-called Islamic State was not found. Singapore government deported five Bangladeshis on April 29. The five were Mizanur Rahman Galib alias Galib Hasan, 38, from Brahmanbaria, Md Rana Miah Pilot, 29, Bogra, Md Tanzimul Islam, 24, Chandpur, Md Masud Rana alias Sentu Khan, 31, Pabna, Md Alamgir Hossain, 31, from Meherpur.
They all went to Singapore between 2007 and 2011 with working visas. Singapore government sent them back on the charge of their link to terror activities. The police arrested them all after their return to Bangladesh. Later, a case was filed against them in anti-terrorism Acts. The CTTU sources said that in primary investigation their involvement in militant connection has been proved.
Those who came back from Singapore last year were Aminur, Abdul Alim and Shah Ali from Tangail, Nurul Amin, Mahmudul Hasan and Golam Jilani from Comilla. Jafar Iqbal from Brahmanbaria, Ashraf Ali from Pabna, Akram Hossain from Jhenaidah, Abdul Alim from Chuadanga, Saiful Islam from Dhaka, Alam Mahbub from Kurigram, Dollar Pervaz from Chapainawabganj and Mohammad Jasim from Munshiganj.
The investigation team sources said they admitted that they were supporters of Mufti Jasim Rahmani, the Chief of ABT before they left the country. They were motivated in extremism after they had reached Singapore. But neither the Singapore government nor the Bangladeshi government found their involvement in subversive activities.
The detectives recovered Jihadi books written by Rahmani from under their possession. They were fond of reading Jihadi books and listening to him.
During interrogation, they told police that every Sunday they used to gather in a mosque named Masjid Angulia on the Serangoon Road in Singapore. In the mosque, they watched Jihadi videos and took part in discussion. They also discussed how they could recruit other Bangladeshis working in Singapore to strengthen the group. They also inspired the new members for taking part in various activities of the organisation.
The detective sources also said they collected money for their organization from various sources. They collected money from Bangladeshis living in Singapore in the name of developing mosques and madrasas.
They told their co-workers that they would send money to Bangladesh for the development of mosques and madrasas. Not only that, they also spent a portion of their earned money for the organization. During investigation, it was found that they became radicalized during their stay in Singapore but they did not have any militant connection before leaving the country for Singapore. They joined the militant organization after reaching there.
