Islamist outfit threatens info minister Inu, 24 others with death

Banned Islamist militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team has issued death threats to Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu, Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor AAMS Arefin Siddique and 23 other eminent personalities, cultural activists and student leaders.

This is the third such threat issued on the lives of eminent personalities and freethinkers by the militant outfit.

The outfit sent a letter, written on the “official letterhead” of Ansarullah Bangla Team-13, to the office of the DU VC by registered post around 12:30pm yesterday, Prof MA Ali, acting proctor of the university, told The Daily Star.

Prof Ali lodged a general diary with Shahbagh Police Station yesterday in this connection.

“A primary list of those who would be eliminated in the first strike is given below,” read the letter.

The names in the list are: journalist Abed Khan, DU History Prof Syed Anwar Husain, Executive President of Ekatturer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee Shahriar Kabir, Liberation War Museum Trustee Mofidul Haque, Prof Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, Sammilita Sangskritik Jote 

President Nasiruddin Yusuf Bachchu, Baishakhi TV CEO Monjurul Ahsan Bulbul, Bhorer Kagoj Editor Shyamol Dutta, Executive Editor of the daily Ittefaq Shaheen Reza Noor, cultural personalities Ramendra Majumder, Chhatra League General Secretary Siddique Nazmul Alam, Bangladesh Chhatra Moitree former President Bappaditya Basu, spokesperson of a faction of Gonojagoron Mancha Imran H Sarker, leader of another faction of the Mancha Kamal Pasha Chowdhury, Mancha activists Mahmudul Haque Munsi Badhan, FM Shaheen, blogger Kaniz Aklima Sultana, private university teacher Arafat Rahman, journalist Munni Saha, Nabanita Chowdhury and Anjan Roy, noted cultural activists Syed Hasan Imam and Sangeeta Imam.

Referring to a meeting of the outfit leaders, the letter stated that the “honourable jurists” of the outfit, after a lot of discussion, declared death sentences to the following anti-religious persons and ordered to execute the sentences.

The Daily Star has obtained a copy of the letter.

On June 3, State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan, former Dhaka University vice-chancellor Prof AK Azad Chowdhury and five others received death threats from a militant outfit. “Alkaida- A. Bangla Team: 13” had purportedly issued the threat through a letter.

Earlier on May 20, the same militant group in a letter issued death threats to 10 other people, including DU VC AAMS Arefin Siddique, Prof Dr Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, DU Prof Kaberi Gayen and Asim Sarker, Prime Ministers' Adviser HT Imam, Awami League lawmaker Tarana Halim and Imran H Sarker.

Contacted, Joint commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Monirul Islam said they were looking into the matter seriously.

Regarding the previous two threats, he said after scrutinising those, it seemed to them that Ansarullah Bangla Team did not post the letters.