JMB men back in business on lax law
Activists return to Satkhira mosques, madrasas; fishermen tell of bomb factory in Sundarbans
Our Correspondent, Satkhira
The outlawed Islamist outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) has started to regroup its forces in the Satkhira region capitalising on lax law enforcement.The JMB men are coming back to mosques and madrasas in rural areas of the district and resuming their militant activities, different intelligence agencies told The Daily Star. The top leaders and activists fled from mosques and madrasas in the remote Satkhira areas following countrywide crackdown after series of suicide bomb attacks by the JMB. The JMB resumed its activities in full swing in the Assassuni, Tala, Kalaroa, Shyamnagar and Sadar upazilas, using mosques and madrasas as their base stations, intelligence agencies said. The JMB is now busy recruiting new members from madrasas, and students from ultra-poor families are its main target, said some villagers, preferring not to be named. Unknown persons are seen in the mosques and madrasas in Pratapnagar, Khajra, Sreeula (Assassuni upazila), Baikari, Banshdah, Kushkhali (Sadar upazila), Nagarghata, Kumira Tentulia, Khalilnagar (Tala upazila), Munshigonj, Gabura, Kaikhali and Burigoalini unions. "They introduce themselves either as student or teacher when approached," a local said. Returning home, some fishermen, meanwhile, told this correspondent the militants who, with the help of pirates, fled to the Sundarbans and set up their dens in the deep forest. "We saw from afar, they now make bombs there," a fisherman said. When asked, police officials said they heard about it but were yet to get any specific information. We will take action after gathering information, they said. Locals are quite sceptic about police action as the Satkhira law enforcement members have failed to arrest most of the charge sheeted accused in Aug 17 blasts and other top JMB leaders even over four months after serial bombings in the district. Only seven out of 17 charge sheeted accused could be arrested so far. Meanwhile, a sense of panic keeps on fraying the nerves of teachers, guardians, students and government officials in the face of non-stop JMB letters with threat to blow up educational institutions and key installations. Police Super Abdur Rahim, however, said security has been beefed up in and around the key installations in the district.
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