Md Joynal Abedin Khan :Hundreds of female militants have connections with the banned radical outfits like the Jamaatul Mujahidin Bangladesh (JMB) and Hijb-ut-Tahrir for carrying subversive activities, police sources said. About 1500 females are more active than their male counterparts, as they can carry arms and explosives as well as literatures easily by dodging law enforces’ surveillance, they said. The female militants operate their activities under the cover of religious meetings in small groups in the rural and urban areas, the sources said. They have also formed 20 suicide squads. Nearly 150 females, who had been picked up on account of their suspected terror link, confessed their involvement in militancy, Intelligence sources said. In view of this, female hostels and messes are under surveillance. Meanwhile, five female students of Government Eden Women College and three female students of Comilla Victoria College were held in this connection recently. Besides, three suspected female members of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) were held from Kalihati of Tangail on July 5, four from Sirajganj, one each from Narsingdi and Jhenaidah were also picked up a few weeks ago, they said. In a separate raid, 11 female Jamaat activists were detained from Laxmipur when they were holding a secret meeting and plotting for creating violence.Earlier on April 24, police arrested 21 women in connection with the Hijb-ut Tahrir in Barisal. “Sazida Akter, a female militant, confessed that she became a member of JMB being pursued by her husband Nazrul Islam who was warranted by law enforcers on charge of taking part the killings of Rajshahi University Professor Rezaul Karim, Italian National Cesare Tavella in Gulshan and Kunio Hoshi in Rangpur,” detective sources said.On September 13, Hazera Khatun, a zonal leader of Allahar Dal, was arrested from Netrakona. She confessed to the police that 34 members were active in the district.In Panchargarh, Ismat Ara, wife of top JMB militant Nazrul, was arrested from the district and admitted to the police that she became a member of the radical outfit after getting death threat.In Bogra, detained Masuma confessed that her husband Raisul alias Fardin and elder brother Mujahid were JMB Shurah members.Inspector General of Police (IGP) claimed to the media that they found their link with the male militants.All the members of the law enforcing agencies have been asked to increase the vigilance on the activities of women militants, the IGP said. Monirul Islam, Chief of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crimes (CTTC), claimed that the wives of executed JMB leaders Siddikul Islam alias Bangla Bhai, Shaikh Abdur Rahman and abdul Awal were involved in militant activities. “All militant outfits have separate women units across the country. The militants are more active in Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Barisal, Chapainababganj, Gazipur, Faridpur, Madaripur and Bagehat. The squads were formed with Nurjahan, Sharmin, Marzia, Mina Akter, Lata Akter Bilkis and Jatsna as leaders, to continue their militant activities with the common people,” the police official said. He said, “We have been taking steps to combat militancy for a long time now. The government perceived in 2009 that a sound legal infrastructure was necessary to fight against militancy, and laws were passed to ensure that.” Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) Legal and Media Wing Director Commander Mufti Mahmud Khan told The New Nation on Sunday, “We have prepared a list of female militants based on detective reports and already have started drive to arrest them.”He said, militants are militants and no difference between male and female radical people. The JMB, Harkat-ul-Jihad (HuJi) Ansalullah Bangla Team (ABT), Hijb-ut Tahrir and Allahar Dal members are active in the country in the name of establishing khilafat, the RAB official said.
