11 sent back home from Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has deported 11 Bangladeshis who used to work in a factory owned by Inshaf Ibrahim, a man involved in the Shangri-La hotel bombing in Colombo.

After the deported Bangladeshi nationals landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka around 11:50am on Friday, Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police took them into their custody.

CTTC chief Monirul Islam yesterday said they were “formally interrogating” the deported Bangladeshis to check their involvement with Inshaf Ibrahim and the attack.

The Bangladeshis were deported as Sri Lanka closed the copper factory of Inshaf Ibrahim and deported most of its foreign workers to their respective countries, CTTC said.

The Bangladeshi nationals went to Sri Lanka with tourist visas but never had work permit. They were illegally staying and working there, the CTTC chief said.

Talking to reporters at his Minto Road office, Monirul said most of the deported Bangladeshis hailed from Tangail and went to Sri Lanka for the sake of their livelihood.

“We have come to know that the Bangladeshis were workers in the factory and had no interaction with the company owner,” he said, adding that the CTTC did not find any criminal record of the workers but “were scrutinising their profiles”.

According to Reuters, Inshaf Ibrahim, a 33-year-old copper factory owner, detonated his explosive device at the busy breakfast buffet of the luxury Shangri-La hotel.

Responding to a question on possible threat in Bangladesh, Monirul said the whole world was at risk and it was not possible for any country to say there would not be any violence or attack.

“We are also at risk in the global context, but we do not have any specific information on any specific attack or conspiracy,” he said.