New terrorist outfit BEM based in house of local Awami League leader !

Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) on Friday claimed that banned militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) was operating in the country under a new name, BEM. The elite force arrested the three operatives of the BEM from a house at Thanthania in the district town on Thursday afternoon.

While briefing reporters at the press conference, director of legal and media wing of Rab-12 ATM Habibur Rahman said some 21 activists of BEM rented the house of Dulal Hossain at Thanthania Dakkinpara on August 19.

They stockpiled heavy weapons there in a bid to carry out massive subversive activities.

Being tipped off, a team of the elite force conducted a drive around 5pm on Thursday and arrested the three. However, the 18 others BEM activists managed to flee from the scene.

The arrested were identified as Firoz Alam, 36, son of Afzal Hossain of Setabganj village in Buchaganj upazila of Dinajpur district, Barha Sheikh alias Babu, 21, son of Makruf Sheikh of Sonarpara village in Gobindaganj upazila in Gaibandha, and Nahid, 22, son of Mizanur Rahman of Kamalapur Railway Colony area in the capital.

However, RAB informed that they still had to find out what BEM stood for (as an abbreviation) and said they were trying to find out the financers of the banned organisation.

According to mediaoutlet Naya Diganta, RAB further informed that house from where they arrested the 3 youth and where the base of this new organization was situated was owned by Dulal Hossain, General Secretary of 12 no. ward, Bogra City Awami League. Meanwhile, the house from where truckloads of ammunition were discovered at Jogarpara in Kahalu upazila, Bogra, also belonged to Awami League leader Aflakur Rahman Pintu. Apart from that, he is the business partner of a senior local Jubo League leader. Moreover, Dulal’s nephew in law is known to be the P.S. (personal secretary) of that leader. In a previous raid, security forces had uncovered illegal VoIP equipment from the same house but hadn’t been able to arrest the owner, even after repeated attempts. Locals said that he had gone into hiding everytime security forces turned up for a raid. This time, while raiding Dulal’s house on Thursday during the security drive, the crime busters seized an SMG, an LMG, foreign pistols, 80 bullets, magazines and documents of the outfit from the flat.

          

Despite of the lack of any evidence, some media outlets such as bdnews24 still managed to make baseless claims citing a 'general perception' that almost all or some of the youth were linked with the student front Islami Chatra Shibir. Bangladesh Islami Chatra Shibir has strongly protested such baseless claims.