The police arrested Anisur Rahman, Meherpur unit chief of militant outfit Hizbut Touhid, early yesterday while the Rab picked up seven more at Gangni upazila last night. Raiding Anis' house at Harbhanga village at around 4:30am, police also recovered firearms, bomb-making materials and a sword, and seized books on Jihad. Later at night, a team of the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) arrested Gangni upazila Hizbut Touhid chief Shaharul Islam and six others--Abdur Rashid, Tajmur Rahman, Ariful Haque, Shah Jamal Hossain, and Harisuddin--when they were holding a meeting at a field near Gangni Bazar. Rab sources said the arrestees have admitted that they have long been involved in Islamic militancy.
Police said they had been out to nab Anis since he and some 50 other militants fled the neighbourhood on April 3. Later on April 7, the law enforcers recovered some books and leaflets from the abandoned houses of Hizbut men, police in Meherpur said. A list of 45 local militants was among the documents seized. The papers detail how the outfit operates, police sources said.
While most of the Hizbut Touhid men were still holed up, Anisur came to his village on Thursday night. According to locals, the Hizbut Touhid has been active at Debipur, Chatian, Bauot, Harbhanga, Karamdi and Katdah villages in Gangni upazila for the last eight years. Ariful Islam of Debipur village would lead the organisation. Sources said they would call on the villagers to join them to establish Islamic rule, rejecting all 'manmade' laws. Bayazid Khan Panni of Tangail is their leader.
Ramzan Ali of Chatian and Basiruddin of Bauot used to train the militants at secret places in the evening. The training would continue till the dead of night. The local people also named one Saharul Islam as the leader of the Gangni upazila unit of Hizbut Touhid.
The law enforcers who have rounded up militants from other parts of the country were largely inactive in Meherpur district. Police sources said they did not arrest the Hizbut men in the area as they were operating under cover of Tabliq Jamaat (proselytising group). Locals said at least 40 Hizbut men left the area on April 3. With their wives and children, they left the villages without any fuss and no one could say anything about their current whereabouts. Meherpur police said they have been informed of the developments and are keeping a close watch. "We will take stern measures against the militants. I've already ordered the local police to be on the alert," Superintendent of Meherpur Police Khondokar Rashidul Islam told The Daily Star.
This correspondent visited the houses of Touhid leader Ariful and Gangni upazila Amir Saharul on Wednesday. "I'm not seeing my son since March 20. I don't know where he has gone and why," said 68-years-old Halima, Ariful's mother. Besides, Saharul is now believed to have been hiding in Kushtia, a source said.
Police said they recovered a list of at least 45 active Touhid men during their raid on Saturday. Of them, 12 hail from Chatian village, nine from Debipur, six from Bouat, Four from Karamdi, eight from Harbhanga and four from Katdah village. Different sources including law enforcement agencies and newspaper reports said at least 1,200 trained cadres of Hizbut Touhid are active in greater Kushtia including Kushtia, Meherpur, Chuadanga and Jhenidah. Most of them are madrasa students or imams of mosques.
A woman follower of the outfit was killed in a clash with villagers at Jugia on the outskirts of Kushtia town in September 2003. At least 25 others were injured in the incident. Sources said the clash broke out when a group of locals, worried over the activities of Hizbut Touhid operatives, attacked their houses.
In another clash between villagers and militants at Poradah Bazar, at least 45 people were hurt on September 9 the same year. The fighting took place when some Hizbut men went there to call on the locals for Jihad. Thirty-four of their men were arrested at Kaliganj upazila of Jhenidah in July 2004 while Kushtia police arrested 13 at Courtpara of the town in August last year. According to sources, the militant group has a strong base in Kushtia, Meherpur, Chuadanga and Jhenidah.