‘It's a disgrace he became a militant'
Motaleb Hossain alias Abdullah, one of the nine militants killed in “Operation Storm 26”, was a student at a Narayanganj madrasa.
While studying at Deboi Kajirbag Alim Madrasa in Rupganj, where he got enrolled in 2008, he rarely visited his home in Dinajpur. But whenever Abdullah went home, he would argue with elderly people over religious issues.
As time passed by, his family members and the villagers started to notice a change in him. He once even got locked in a scuffle with villagers over offering munajat (prayer) at the local mosque, said villagers.
“We noticed a sudden change in him after he shifted to Dhaka in 2008,” said his elder brother Nurul Islam.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police on Wednesday disclosed the addresses and photos of Abdullah and six other militants on its website and official Facebook page.
Fourth among six siblings, Abdullah was born on January 15, 1993, at Ballavpur village in Dinajpur's Nawabganj upazila.
His parents named him Motaleb but he got the name Abdullah after he went to the Rupganj madrasa.
Abdullah's childhood friend, Sohel Rana, said he saw a change in Abdullah when he visited the village a few years ago.
“He was pious and used to offer prayers regularly at mosque. But during his last visit, he engaged in a scuffle with the elderly at mosque over offering munajat,” said Sohel.
Villager Abu Taher said Abdullah would say “offering munajat after prayers at mosque is not good.”
Abdullah also wanted to be an imam of the mosque but villagers did not allow him, he added.
His father, Sohrab Ali, and his three other brothers are mason by profession. The family sent Abdullah to a school, hoping that at least one member of the family would become literate.
The 60-year-old man said he does not want to see his son's face anymore and it is disgraceful that his son became a militant. He also said he did not want to receive Abdullah's body.
He said he did everything to make sure one of his sons gets proper education. But everything shattered when he heard Abdullah became a militant and was shot dead in Kalyanpur.
With tears in his eyes, Sohrab said, “It's my failure. I could not think that he would ruin himself.”
However, Ismail Hossain, officer-in-charge of at Nawabganj Police Station, said Abdullah's parents informed him that they would receive the body.
Sohrab and his eldest son Nurul left home for Dhaka yesterday morning to identify the body.
Abdullah completed primary education from Ballavpur Government Primary School in Nawabganj and got admitted to a madrasa in Hakimpur upazila of Dinajpur.
After studying at Hakimpur madrasa for a couple of years, he got enrolled at Sapahar Aladi Madrasa in Naogaon, said his brother Abul Kalam Azad.
In 2008, Abdullah got admitted in Deboi Kajirbag Alim Madrasa in Rupganj and passed Dakhil and Alim examinations from there in 2010 and 2012 respectively, securing GPA-5 in both the tests.
He told his family that he had started studying Fazil at another madrasa there. Abdullah last visited his home a year ago but was in contact with his brother Nurul. He often called Nurul over the phone, family members said.
“He called me 10 days ago saying he would come home during Eid-ul-Azha,” said Nurul.
Abdullah was also taking preparation to get a job in Bangladesh Navy, he added.
“We wanted to see him as an educated person,” he added.
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