Tanjime Tamiruddin, listed by the government as a suspected militant outfit, has been renamed Hijbe Abu Omar so it could be run unhindered in the face of the crackdown on Islamic militancy. Its founder Moulana Abdur Rouf, now behind bars, had ordered his disciples sometime last year to operate under the new name. An Afghan War veteran, he is a former leader of Harkatul Jihad Al-Islami (HuJi) Bangladesh that was banned by the government in 2005. Despite his absence, the organisation continued to thrive with several hundred cadres active across the country. It is working to send its activists abroad to fight the 'enemies of Islam' in places across the globe, said intelligence sources. Recently, the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) has arrested seven members of the militant outfit. In primary interrogation, the arrestees have admitted to having gone through a month's physical training at Jibontoli, a faraway village in Bhaluka of Mymensingh. The elite crime busters have also seized three firearms and ammunition, explosives and bomb-making materials from Mymensingh and Barisal.
Derived from Arabic, 'Hijbe Abu Omar' means the party of Omar's father. Omar is the only son of Abdur Rouf. Tanjime Tamiruddin was renamed after Rouf was captured along with his wife and some other militants during a raid at Jibontoli Madrasa on August 2 last year. During the raid, the law enforcers also recovered some bomb-making materials and training equipment from the militants' den that also had four bunkers and two sentry outposts.