Blast at a Chittagong madrasa
AN accidental explosion at the dormitory of a Hefajat-e-Islami leader-owned Qawmi madrasa in Chittagong on Monday has exposed what a diabolical plot of death and destruction was being hatched by Islamist militants behind the scene. The window grills, ceiling fan and furniture at the scene of incident bore the marks of its deadly force. It claimed one life and critically injured another.
Police found huge amount of bomb-making materials and 30 crude grenades in the hostel room that had exploded into flames. A question arises. Had the explosion not occurred, would the den have been discovered? This is an added reason for greater vigil to be brought to bear on the pursuit of extremist forces.
This is not to preclude, however, the fact that the law-enforcement agencies have also to their credit occasional discoveries of extremists' dens.
Seeing the sheer size of the arsenal, one may well assume the intensity of the Jihadi spirit that was being instilled in the minds of its adherents. This is a cause for renewed concern.
This fortuitous discovery of the militants' den at the Chittagong madrasa is a pointer to what might actually be going on in the name of education behind an apparently innocuous exterior.
What members of the law-enforcement agencies are faced with here are fanatics driven by a self-arrogated ideology. They are merely using religion as a façade. This calls for handling extremists in a manner that is different from the methods applied against common criminals. In this fight against extremism, there is no room for complacency or resting on one's laurels.
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