Six suspected militants held in Meherpur

Rapid Action Battalion and police yesterday arrested six youths at Amjhupi village of Meherpur Sadar upazila for suspected involvement with militant outfits.

Villagers alleged that they are operatives of Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh, banned by the government.

But the arrestees, who were taken to Meherpur Sadar Police Station, claimed they are activists of Bangladesh Biswa Shanti Ahban Samity.

Of them, Mustafizur Rahman Chandan of Sylhet and Nur Mohammad Hedayetullah of Jamalpur said they work at a foreign mission in Dhaka.

Rezaul Ahmed of Faridpur said he is a lecturer at Dhaka Commerce College.

Of the others, Madhusudan Sarker hails from Bagerhat, Mahfuzul Islam from Magura and Shah Alam from Narayanganj.

The officer-in-charge of the Meherpur Sadar Police Station said the six were sent to jail after being produced before a court.

Mamul Islam, headmaster of Amjhupi High School, and Imdadul Haque, a local muazzin, said the villagers got infuriated when the six youths tried to incite them to violence in the name of religion.

Paltan police, meanwhile, said they went to Hizb ut-Tahrir's central office at Purana Paltan yesterday but found it under lock and key.

They said they filed a petition with a Dhaka court, seeking permission to search the office.