5 ‘militants’ deported from Singapore remanded

A Dhaka court today placed five alleged militants, who were deported from Singapore, on seven-day remand each in connection with a case filed under the anti-terrorism act.

Additional chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ali Mashud Sheikh passed the order after Detective Branch Inspector Mansur Ali Sheikh produced them before it with a ten-day remand plea.

Sent back for suspected militancy link on April 29, the five have been identified as Mizanur Rahman alias Ghalib Hasan, 38, of Kasba upazila of Brahmanbaria, Md Rana Mia Pilot, 29, of Gabtali upazila of Bogra, Md Alamgir Hossain, 31, of Gangni upazila of Meherpur, Md Tanjimul Islam, 24, of Matlab upazila of Chandpur, and Masud Rana alias Sontu Khan, 31 Bera upazila of Pabna.

They were arrested from Banasree area in Dhaka yesterday.

Members of the so-called Islamic State in Bangladesh, formed in Singapore in March by Rahman Mizanur, had identified several possible targets in Bangladesh, which include lawmakers, ministers, and media personnel, according to a kill-list released by the media.

In a document titled “We Need for Jihad Fight”, which was recovered from Rahman, the group also listed military targets such as the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), the air and navy forces and the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab).

According to Singapore's home affairs ministry, the five were suspected militants were investigated as part of crackdown on the so-called Islamic State in Bangladesh (ISB), and it was found that “they possessed and/or proliferated jihadi-related materials, or supported the use of armed violence in pursuit of a religious cause”.

However, their involvement in ISB was not found, it said.

Briefing the media yesterday, Additional DMP Commissioner Monirul Islam said some of the five arrestees were found in possession of Mufti Jasim Uddin Rahmani's books that are known for preaching militancy.