Militants rule Dhaka Polytechnic hostels

The dormitories of Dhaka Polytechnic Institute in the city's Tejgaon area have allegedly turned into a safe haven for fugitive criminals and militants.
Using aliases, the criminals take refuge at the three hostels and stay concealed among the students, alleged a number of students and teachers of the institute, a fact confirmed by the law enforcement agencies as well.
Islami Chhatra Shibir, student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, shelters the militants, they said adding that several teachers with Jamaat background and known to have links with Harkat-ul-Jihad Al Islam (Huji) are also involved.
Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Muhammad Kamaruzzaman talking to The Daily Star last night denied all allegations against the party men. But he declined to make further comments.
Contacted, Prof Shamshul Alam, principal of the institute, admitted that some teachers of the institute are assisting the militants to hide in the dormitories. "I have heard about them," he said.
Prof Alam however said that they are unable to take actions against those teachers since they have been discharging their academic duties accordingly and the issue is out of their jurisdiction to deal with. The intelligence agencies and the law enforcers should look into it, he added.
Talking to The Daily Star, Deputy Commissioner of Tejgaon Zone of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Mahbubor Rahman said, "We have heard that besides the students, some teachers also shelter the militants. We have been investigating to identify them."
They have been keeping an eye on the hostels, he said. "The militants and other fugitives stay among the students of the dormitories using pseudonyms," the DMP deputy commission added.
Dhaka Polytechnic Institute first came to the spotlight as a
militant den on December 14, 2005, when Ataur Rahman Sunny, brother of Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) kingpin Shaekh Abdur Rahman, was arrested at the Latif Hostel of the institute.
In his confession, Mufti Moinuddin Abu Zandal, close associate of Huji chief Mufti Hannan, said that he had stayed in Latif Hostel for over one and a half years before his arrest on February 14 in Gazipur.
After the clashes between Shibir and Bangladesh Chhatra League activists during February 9-10, Zandal was forced to give up his refuge.
Meanwhile, a day after the arrest of Zandal, the intelligence agencies picked up a teacher of the institute, who is also a city committee leader of the Jamaat.
Sources said intelligence agency members grilled him to learn about other teachers of the institute involved with the Huji and to find out the whereabouts of absconding Huji leaders. Although the teacher has been released, he remains under the close observation of the law enforcers, they added.
The neighbouring Glass and Ceramic College is also a place of sanctuary for the militants, the sources said.
On April 9, 2007, Ashrafuddin Bhuiyan, a teacher of civil engineering department and the then superintendent of Latif Hostel, was shot dead by unidentified criminals in front of the hostel.
Many suspect that he had tipped off the law enforcers about JMB leader Sunny, leading to his arrest, and was murdered by the enraged militants as retribution.
Yesterday, Zandal was taken into a seven-day remand in connection with the murder.
Islami Chhatra Shibir activists gained a stronghold at the institute with the backing of several teachers with Jamaat background, sources said.
A teacher of civil engineering department, who is a city committee leader of Jamaat and once been a close aide of top Jamaat leader Golam Azam, and another teacher of Glass and Ceramics Institute, a rukon of Jamaat, had been supervising Shibir activities for quite some time, they added.
"There is no scope for denying the allegation that the militants remained hidden in the dormitories," Bangladesh Polytechnic Teachers' Association (BPTA) president Prof Shamsur Rahman told The Daily Star.
He urged the government to probe into the matter soon with utmost importance.
"If the students are involved they should be punished. Besides, the involvement of the teachers, if any, should also be found out," the BPTA president added.
Principal Shamshul Alam said that they have taken up several steps in the wake of the recent militant arrest.
No other activities, except for prayers, are allowed in the mosque of the institute and the Tablig members require permission to go and stay there. Besides, showing identity cards have been made mandatory for the students to enter the dormitories.
The principal also said that he has asked the police to monitor the situation of the campus.