Militants’ escape: Co-accused out on bail acted as messenger
The dramatic escape of two death-row convicts from the premises of a Dhaka court on Sunday was aided by another accused militant of Ansar Al Islam who was out on bail, counter-terrorism officials said today.
Mehedi Hasan Omi alias Rafi was a charge-sheeted accused along with 19 other operatives of Ansar Al Islam, including the two escaped militants Moinul Hasan Shamim alias Samir alias Imran and Abu Siddiq Sohel, in a case filed with Mohammadpur Police Station in 2016.
Mehedi got out on bail in mid-2017.
Shamim and Sohel were among eight militants sentenced to death by a Dhaka Anti-Terrorism Tribunal in February last year in a separate case filed over murdering Jagriti Publications publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan in 2015.
Since getting out on bail in the case filed with Mohammadpur Police Station in 2016, Mehedi maintained a close connection with Ansar Al Islam's top leaders and shared their directives with the arrested accused when he met them during hearings of the case at Dhaka court.
In this way, Mehedi shared the plan of freeing the two death-row convicts by carrying out an attack on police in the court premises after a hearing of the case.
Counterterrorism officials arrested Mehedi from Jatrabari area yesterday, three days after the plan was executed on Sunday, and learned these details during primary interrogation.
"Mehedi being present with other accused played a major role in snatching the two militants [from police custody] … He even handed some money to the death-row convicts so that they could use it after being free following the attack," Md Asaduzzaman, chief of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit, told a press conference at the DMP media centre today.
On Sunday, 12 out of 20 accused were produced before the court from jail. Mehedi and another accused were also present at the courtroom for the hearing.
After the hearing, four police personnel were escorting the 12 militants to the prison cell at the Chief Metropolitan Magistrates' Court but on the way, some outsiders attacked the law enforcers and whisked away two operatives -- Shamim and Sohel -- from the court premises.
CTTC officials said they have identified some others involved in the incident and they are trying to arrest them.
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