Police in the port city on Saturdsay quizzed the chief of a ‘quomi ‘ madrasa linked to Hefajat-e-Islam, raiding the seminary as a nationwide anti-militancy crackdown is underway.
Officials and witnesses said several hundred policemen in riot gears kept the Al Jamiatul Ulum Al Islamia Madrasah at Lalkhan Bazar under siege while the personnel of the law enforcement agency inspected its dormitories and other parts.
“The search was part of our (anti-militancy) block raids , it continued from 4:45pm to 6.45 pm when we quizzed the madrasah’s director Mufti Harun Izhar,” a police officer familiar with the raid told media. .Hefajat-e-Islam leader Mufti Izharul Islam Chowdhury runs the madrasa with his son Harun Izhar being its director.
The official said they find no direct evidence this time suggesting the madrasah’s militancy link this time though police had recovered four grenades and bomb-making materials two years ago from the scene after what it appeared an accidental blast at that time.The blast on the second-floor of the madrasa’s four-storey dormitory wounded seven of students on October 7, 2013 prompting a subsequent police raid there.
