Joynal Abedin Khan :
The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) is looking for at least 27 more suspected female members of banned Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), sources said.
The elite force came to know about the 27 members following interrogation of the four females and analysing their mobile phones and laptops seized during Tuesday’s operation in the capital and Gazipur.
Khandker Lutful Kabir, Commanding Officer (CO) of RAB- 4 told The New Nation yesterday, “We’ve got some of their names. The names might be their code names given by the outfit. We will verify those during interrogation.”
The suspects include Safia alias Sanjida alias Jhinuk, Maimuna alias Mahmuda alias Laila, Tasnuba alias Tahira, Shaila alias Shahida, Saleha alias Putul, Dinat Jahan alias Nawmi alias Bani, Tanjila alias Munni, Aliya alias Tinni alias Titli, Monira Jahan alias Mili and Sabiha alias Mitu.
RAB mentioned their names as accused in the case filed with Mirpur Police Station in connection with the arrest of the four female JMB operatives. The RAB-4 CO said that they had already written to the Home Ministry for permission to take the charge of the investigation. A RAB official preferring anonymity said, “As they used to attend meetings with the four women held, we suspect that they all are radicalised.”
According to RAB, the female unit was formed under the guidance of JMB’s southern Region Chief Mahmudul Hasan alias Hasan who was arrested by RAB on July 21 in Gazipur. The four arrestees along with some others were allegedly spreading extremist ideologies among females in the name of teaching Arabic.
Their current objective was to strengthen the female unit and collect funds for terror activities, RAB officials said.
Earlier, a Dhaka court on Wednesday granted five-day remand for each of the four arrested female JMB activists. Metropolitan Magistrate Pronab Kumar Hui passed the order after Mirpur police produced them before the court and sought seven-day remand for each.
The arrestees are Aklima Rahman Moni, Khadija Parveen Meghla and Ishrat Jahan Mou — all fourth-year Pharmacy Department students at Manarat International University (MIU) — and Istishna Afroz Oishee, an intern at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
Meanwhile, at least five members of international money racket gangs were arrested by RAB-11 from the capital city and Narayanganj on Wednesday night. The identity of the detained persons could not be known immediately.
