‘Key planner’ took shelter in 3 Dhaka houses

The key coordinator behind the two militants' snatching from police custody had taken shelter in three different areas of the capital to evade law enforcers, claim law enforcers.

Coordinator Edi Amin, also an operative of Ansar Al Islam, is now on four-day police remand.

Amin, who directly assisted the snatching, surrendered at a Dhaka court on November 27.

The Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit yesterday claimed to have obtained the findings after interrogating Amin.

CTTC officials said Amin first took shelter in the house of his sister, Khodeza Akhter Lipi, in Khilgaon area on November 22.

Then he went to Bijoynagar area on November 23 and stayed at the house of his father-in-law, Md Nasir Miah Faruq, till November 24.

And finally, he went to Basabo area on the morning of November 25 and took shelter in the house of one Tanvir Hossain till November 26.

On charge of giving shelter to Amin, police arrested the three on Monday, said a CTTC high official involved with the investigation.

All the arrestees were aware that Amin was accused in the case filed with Kotwali Police Station on November 20 centring the snatching incident.

CTTC inspector Abul Kalam Azad yesterday produced the three before a Dhaka court, showing them arrested in the militant snatching case, and sought for ten-day remand.

After hearing, the court granted a three-day remand for interrogation. Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Shakil Ahmed passed the order.

On November 20, two militants -- Moinul Hasan Shamim alias Samir alias Sifat alias Imran, and Abu Siddiq Sohel alias Sakib alias Sajid alias Shahab -- were snatched from police custody and whisked away when they were returning to jail after a hearing in a Dhaka court.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal asked jail authorities to be alert so that militants in prison do not carry out antisocial and anti-state activities.

While speaking at the closing ceremony of the basic-training course of prison guards yesterday, he urged the authorities to take strict measures while transferring militants from jail to courts, hospitals or other jails.

Kamal said authorities are providing training to prisoners for 40 trades in 38 jails across the country, to develop their skills.

There is a plan to bring all the jails under this training programme in phases, he added.