A cabinet committee on Thursday directed the law enforcing agencies to find out the sponsors of the country’s terrorist organizations, including the banned Islamist outfit Jama’atul Mujahedin Bangladesh [JMB].
In the wake of Trishal ambush by the JMB operatives, the cabinet committee also asked the security agencies to bring all the militant groups, those who have been using religion as their shield, under round-the-clock vigilance.
The above directives came at a meeting of the cabinet committee on law and order held at the Bangladesh Secretariat yesterday morning presided over by Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu, who is also Chairman of the committee.
Sources said yesterday’s meeting mainly focused on Sunday’s terrorist activities while a gang of JMB militants snatched away three condemned convicts attacking a prison van at Trishal in Mymensingh by killing a cop and injuring three other policemen.
In this backdrop, the security agencies also have been asked by the cabinet committee to take additional precautionary measures at all important establishments including the key point installations to prevent terrorist incident in the future.
“We have asked the law enforcing agencies and intelligence units to trace the sponsors of the militant organizations active in the country. We have asked them to unearth the source of financing to the militants,” said Amir Hossain Amu, Minister for Industries, said.
Amu further said: Those who are conducting terrorist activities in the country under the banner of religion-based organizations will be brought under the purview of law.
Minister for Expatriate Welfare Engineer Modarraf Hossain, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon, State Minister for Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, among others, were present at the meeting.
Besides, chiefs of different agencies and senior security officials, including Inspector General of Police Hassan Mahmud Khandokar, took part.
Hassan Mahmud Khandokar reportedly expressed satisfaction about the overall law and order situation including militancy issue. “In spite of an attack on prison van at Trishal in Mymensinh, the overall activities of militant groups are under ‘effective control’ of the law enforcing agencies,” the IGP said.
Official sources said the meeting also laid emphasis on the reported attacks and repressions on the members of minority communities in different parts of the country and asked the law enforcers to take tough action against such acts in the future.
Besides, the issue of trans-border smuggling of different items, including intoxicated drugs, firearms and fertilizer, got importance in the meeting.
Especially, the committee directed the concerned authorities to check the Bangladesh-India border to prevent smuggling of different drugs, particularly the phensidyl, the sources added.
The meeting directed the concerned agencies to take stringent measures against the smuggling of synthetic drug Yaba and low standard fertilized from Myanmar.
Apart from it, the cabinet committee also asked the law enforcement agencies including Border Guard Bangladesh {BGB] to keep vigil on further infiltration of Rohingya refugees while the majority of the existing Rohigyas are involved in different crimes, according to the officials.
