Missing youths: Radicals out to swell ranks
Once again, youths are leaving their homes after being indoctrinated into extremism online, found law enforcers working to combat terrorism.
Just a week after seven young men went missing in Cumilla, four others in the same area left their homes on September 1.
The Rab, however, claims it apprehended the four, aged 17 to 17, soon afterwards.
Commander Khandaker Al Moin, director of Rab's legal and media wing, confirmed the development to The Daily Star yesterday.
"We took the four to the 'centre to deradicalise' and ensured they were in touch with their families. They were also being motivated to return to a normal life."
On September 6, they were returned to their families.
Moin said the four had connections with the seven who went missing on August 23.
"All of them were brainwashed by the same outfit – [Al-Qaeda-inspired] Ansar-Al Islam … We were confirmed about this after interrogating the four that we rescued. We suspect more people are involved with the group."
Besides Cumilla, there has been information on some young men missing from Chandpur district as well, said the official.
Moin further said they suspect Ansar Al Islam has been playing a key role behind all the recent disappearances as the outfit chooses this method of "keeping their contacts close" and making them perform "hijrat".
"Hijrat" is an Arabic word, derived from "hijr," which means "to depart." It is also used for "to shift" or "abandonment." In Islam, it generally means "to give up one's own land" or "to migrate from one place to another place" mostly for the sake of Deen/faith and Allah.
Till yesterday, the seven missing since August 23 could not yet be traced.
In July last year, four other young men have left their homes in Sylhet.
They are also believed to have been radicalised by Ansar Al Islam, also known as the Bangladesh chapter of Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS).
In August last year, the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit claimed at least 19 people went missing from Narayanganj's Araihazar Upazila.
Since the seven have been missing from Cumilla, law enforcers have begun making a list of suspected missing youths and gathering information regarding missing diaries filed with different police stations.
Speaking to The Daily Star yesterday, a high official working with the CTTC, said they have already taken steps to make a list of those missing.
"We have recently been receiving complaints of missing people from different areas, which has now become a cause for concern. And so, we have taken the step to prepare a database," he said, preferring anonymity.
Law enforcers say the majority of those missing, mostly aged between 17 and 25, have been radicalised on online platforms.
Md Asaduzzaman, chief of the CTTC unit, told The Daily Star yesterday that they have "neutralised the outfit's organisational strength", but the "online threat" remains.
He said guardians have a major role to play in this regard.
"For example, the families of the seven Cumilla missing boys were aware of the sudden changes [in their behaviour] and they even informed police after they went missing. If they had reported about the [alarming] behavioural changes earlier, the scenario would have been different."
Law enforcers, however, claimed to have found that the Cumilla seven were not only influenced online, but also in physical presence.
"They were being influenced for past year and a half through inter-group communications," said Lt Col Mashiur Rahman Jewel, director of Rab's intelligence wing.
Sources said Ansar Al Islam is now recruiting members in two ways -- one through online platforms, while the other requires physical visits to mosques and madrasas.
After "brainwashing" young people, the outfit takes them to a centre for "physical training".
Security expert Major Gen (retired) Abdur Rashid told this newspaper that young men leaving homes for "hijrat" clearly indicates that internal militant activities and recruitment are ongoing at the moment.
"The trend and numbers clearly indicate that the outfit is trying to regroup … Law enforcers need to quickly trace those behind such activities."
Contacted, MM Hasanul Zahid, special superintendent of the Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU), said that Ansar Al Islam's current activities are mainly on social media platforms.
"They are trying to recruit members through online propaganda. We are alert and increasing our vigilance on these platforms."
The country witnessed a similar scenario when young boys started going missing from 2014 to 2016, which resulted in the Holy Artisan attack in Gulshan in July 1, 2016.
However, the outfit playing "influencer" at that time was the Islamic State inspired Neo JMB.
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