Militant IT expert Ashfaq remanded

Top militant IT expert Md Ashfaq-Ur-Rahman, who was arrested yesterday in Dhaka, has been placed on a five-day remand.

Metropolitan Magistrate Pranab Kumar Hui passed the order after law enforcers produced him before the court seeking a 10-day remand, SM Shahrier Hasan, Inspector of Counter Terrorism unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told The Daily Star. 

Md Ashfaq-Ur-Rahman used to gather information on the targeted bloggers and worked under the close supervision of fugitive and fired army official Major Zia, police claimed today.

Major Syed Ziaul Haque known as Zia, head of the military operations of banned militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), failed to orchestrate a coup in 2011. Since then, he has been on the run and has a Tk 20 lakh bounty on him.

In primary interrogation, Ashfaq alias Ayon alias Arif alias Anik admitted that he worked as the chief of information technology (IT) section of ABT, Monirul Islam, chief of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), told reporters at a press briefing in DMP media centre.

Ashfaq used to collect information including names, address and movement of targeted bloggers by hacking into their social media accounts, Monirul said quoting the militant.

‘Studied at SUST computer science dept’

Before joining ABT, one and a half years back, he was a student of computer science department at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (Sust), the CTTC chief said.

Ashfaq got arrested when he went to Bhatara to meet a person, the police official said.

‘Maj Zia in Bangladesh’

Based on information given by Ashfaq, police suspect that Maj Zia is in Bangladesh.

“The detainee told us that he met Maj Zia several months back, so we think that Zia is in Bangladesh,” Monirul. But they do not have any latest information on him, he added.