Militant hideout: A house owner's curse

The Taj Manzil of Kalyanpur in Dhaka saw a drastic change in last one and a half years after nine suspected militants, who had holed up there under the guise of tenants, were killed in police operation codenamed “Storm 26” on July 26, 2016.

Known as “Jahaj (ship) Building” for its ark-like front view, each floor of the six-storey building was once occupied by many tenants -- mostly singles. The rent of house was reasonably high in a neighbourhood that mainly consists of housing for low and lower-middle income groups.

After the house owner Atahar Uddin Ahmed and his wife Momtaj Parveen were implicated in a case filed over their alleged “sheltering of militants” in the aftermath of the Operation Storm 26, most old tenants of the building have moved out fearing police harassment.

Before the incident, monthly rent for a flat in Jahaj Building ranged from Tk 12,000 to Tk 13,000. Now, even though the house owner has slashed the rent down -- from Tk 4,000 to Tk 5,000, nearly half of the building still remains vacant, according to locals and the caretaker of the building. 

Despite several attempts, the correspondents were unsuccessful in speaking with Atahar's family members in person.

They were able to reach his wife, Momtaj, over phone recently when she said that they had to relocate from their house to avoid police harassment.

Commenting on the tenant situation, she said, “The incident [Operation Storm 26] left the tenants perplexed” and now most people are holding off renting this place.

Meanwhile, they are also being more cautious in verifying a prospective tenant's information and renting out the flats to married couples only, she also said. 

In the early hours of July 26 in 2016, a fierce gun battle ensued after police stumbled upon a militant den in the building while conducting a block raid in the area.

The law enforcers evacuated all tenants of the building, with four flats on each floor, before neutralising nine suspected militants. 

Later, the law enforcers picked up the house owner couple along with several tenants of the building for questioning.

Police then filed a case against the couple and their four other family members -- currently on bail, accusing them of harbouring militants, concealing information and obstructing duties of the police, according to court sources.

One of the building's few tenants, Tuku Mia, a local furniture shop owner, said he had been living in a two-bedroom flat with his family on the second floor of the building since July last year and the tenants of the building face visits and interrogations by police oftentimes.

For his flat the monthly rent is Tk 9,000, which is about Tk 4,000 cheaper than similar flats in the area, he said adding that he is aware of the incident that took place there, but he decided to rent the flat to save some money.

The building caretaker, wishing not to be named, said all the long-time tenants have moved out of the building anticipating harassments in future.

New tenants started to move in since July of 2017 and only nine of 16 flats in the building have tenants now. Police did not allow anyone to live in the building until June 2017 -- another reason for low rents in the building, he added.

Although there was no inhabitant in the building, the owner had to count about Tk 4 lakh in utility bills during the last one and a half years and now he is having to bear the expense of refurbishment work of the flats due to the damages incurred during the Operation Storm 26, he also said.

Asked about police surveillance, Jasim Uddin Mollah, additional deputy commissioner (Mirpur zone) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), said police beefed up surveillance in the entire Mirpur area after the operation. “The [Kalyanpur] building is not exempt from our surveillance either.”

Mohibul Islam Khan, deputy commissioner at Counter Terrorism unit of DMP, said the operation at Taj Manzil produced significant achievement for police as they could learn a lot about curbing militancy from the incident.

The police raid on the building is still a topic of conversation among the people in the neighbourhood while people from nearby areas come to take a look at the house, locals said.