Joynal Abedin Khan :
An Islamic extremist organisation — Ansarullah Bangla Team-13 — has been threatening of death on ministers, educationists, political leaders, journalists, writers, bloggers and other professional and progressive personalities in the country.
The outfit is assembling all banned militant organisations under a same umbrella and giving them training on how to make bombs easily and carry out attacks on targeted persons, according to intelligence sources.
On Tuesday, Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu, DU Vice Chancellor AAMS Arefin Siddique and 23 other personalities received death threats from this banned militant outfit. The radical organisation sent a letter by registered post to the office of the DU Vice-Chancellor around 12:30pm, Prof M Amzad Ali, Acting Proctor of the university, told The New Nation last night.
The proctor said the letter, written on its own pad and wrapped with a white envelope, mentioned the names of the 25 people, saying that they would be killed first and then the list would be expanded.
Other listed people are: Dr Syed Anwar Hossain, Professor of the History Department of DU, Journalist Abed Khan, war crimes researcher Shahriar Kabir, Liberation War Museum trustee and researcher Mofidul Haque, cultural personalities Nasiruddin Yusuf Bachchu and Ramendu Majumdar, Bangladesh Chhatra League Secretary Siddiquee Nazmul Alam, Boishakhi Television Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Monjurul Ahasan Bulbul, Ittefaq Executive Editor Shahin Rewza Noor, Bhorer Kagoj Editor Shamol Dutta, Actor Seyed Hasan Imam, American International University of Bangladesh Lecturer Arafat Rahman, ATN News’s Head of News Munni Saha, 71 TV’s News Presenter Nabanita Choudhury, Gonojagoron Mancha spokesperson Imran H Sarker, its partial organizer Kamal Pasha Choudhury, activist Mahmudul Haque Munshi Bhadhan, SM Shahin, bloger Kaniz Fatima, Bangladesh Chhatra Maitry President Bappadia Basu and Sangita Imam.
Professor Amzad Ali said a general diary (GD) has been filed with Shahbagh Police Station regarding the matter.
Meanwhile, around 100 high profile personalities, including State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, noted writer Humayun Azad, Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor AAMS Arefin Siddique have received death warning from different gangs of terrorists and extremists, said Abu Bakar Siddique, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Shahbagh Police Station.
Of them, some people also received the same threat more than one time, the police official said.
Besides, a lecturer of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) was sentenced to jail in absentia in April for threatening to kill Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and defaming her on Facebook.
Earlier on June 2, Banned Islamic outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team allegedly issued a letter threatening to kill seven renowned personalities, including former University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman AK Azad Chowdhury and State Minister for Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal.
“The Dhaka University authorities have filed a general diary with Dhanmondi Police Station on behalf of teachers in this regard,” DU Proctor M Amzad Ali said.
According to Amzad Ali, the letter was delivered to AK Azad Chowdhury at his residence in the city’s Dhanmondi by Ansarullah Bangla Team.
The letter, titled ‘Must you will prepare for death’, lists names of seven people, which includes four university teachers, he added. The other individuals on the list are DU Proctor M Amzad Ali, DU Arts Faculty Dean Prof. Akhtaruzzaman, DU Zahurul Haq Hall Provost Abu Mohammad Delwar Hossain, actress Shomi Kaiser and Abu Musa Md Masuduzzaman.
On May 20, Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor AAMS Arefin Siddique and several other teachers have received letters that threatened to kill them. The letters, containing a list of 10, were apparently sent by ‘Alkaida (sic) – Ansarullah Bangla Team: 13’.
Prime Minister’s Political Affairs Adviser HT Imam’s name was on the top of the list. The others include Ganajagaran Mancha spokesman Imran H Sarker, writer-teacher Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, Dhaka University teacher Kaberi Gayen, Jagannath Hall Provost Ashim Sarker and Awami League MP Tarana Halim. On May 11, Al-Qaeda-Ansarullah Bangla Team-8 issued a death threat to 12 people, including Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor AAMS Arefin Siddique and PM’s Advisor HT Imam.
Earlier in the past, noted author Humayun Azad, woman author Taslima Nasrin, and several bloggers had also received death threats from the terrorists group. Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor AAMS Arefin Siddique said that he was not worried after getting death threat. “The law enforcing agencies will arrest the terrorists and bring them under justice,” he hoped.
Krisna Pad Roy, Deputy Commissioner of Detective Branch (South) said, “We are looking into the matter and on the move to find them.”
