ABT planned to 'attack key Ctg installation'

Four suspected Ansarullah Bangla Team men, who were arrested on Sunday night, had planned to carry out an attack on a government establishment in Chittagong to demonstrate their presence in the port city, said police sources.

They also conducted recces on some areas and had plans to attack law enforcers. Fourteen members of the banned militant outfit were involved in the plan, added the sources.

Police came to know this during primary interrogation of the four -- Musa Ebne Omayer, Shipon alias Foysal, Khorshed Alam and Russell Md Islam. They were picked up in a remote area of Barabkunda in Sitakunda upazila.

Yesterday, Senior Judicial Magistrate Shahidullah Kaisar of Chittagong placed the arrestees on five-day remand each after investigators produced them before the court, seeking 10-day remand for each, said court police.

AKM Hafiz Akter, superintendent of police in Chittagong, said they became sure about the arrestees' motive after interrogating them.

Law enforcers were also scrutinising the documents and materials seized from the four, added the SP.

Police said a large number of jihadi multimedia discs and documents containing instructions on attacks on cops along with four swords, as many machetes, a laptop, a tablet computer and six mobile phone sets were seized from their possession.

Police on Monday filed two cases with Sitakunda Police Station against seven named accused, including the four, and six to seven unnamed under Anti Terrorism Act 2009 and Arms Act.

The other named accused are Mohammed Selim, 30, Ariful Mostafa, 25, and Mozaher Uddin Rajib alias Abdullah alias Amin, 32, said Sub-Inspector Shariful Islam Khan of the police station.

The four were picked up from Rajib's rented house where they had been living, said the SI.

Wishing anonymity, an SI who was present during the arrests said the four had been in contact with other members of the group over the phone.

Locals said Rajib had been in Dhaka for several years, but he came back home a year ago and set up a poultry farm near Chittagong Chemical Complex in Barabkunda.

Some locals suspected that he might have developed militant links while staying in the capital.

Nazmul Islam Bhuiyan, upazila nirbahi officer of Sitakunda, said following the arrests of the four, they asked the industries and factories in the upazila to provide details of their workers to law enforcers on security grounds.