Agency ups security for itself
Security measures have been beefed up in and around the office of the Detective Branch (DB) of the police in the capital following threats issued to some officials of the intelligence agency allegedly by the men of the Dubai-based underworld mafia don Daud Ibrahim.
ADC of the DB Mahbub Alam told this correspondent yesterday, “We have already beefed up security measures surrounding the DB office as part of precautionary measures for ensuring its security as well as avoiding any untoward incident.”
He also said, “As part of the security measures, additional forces have been deployed in and around the DB office. Check-posts have been set up at different strategic points adjoining the DB office. None of the common people including journalists were allowed to enter the DB compound without registering names, address and purpose in the visitor’s book.”
Asked about threats issued to some of the DB officials by Daud Ibrahim’s men, he said, “This is nothing serious. We are used to such threats from different quarters.”
High officials of DB are at present extensively interrogating the three arrested Indian criminals Abdur Rauf alias Daud Merchant, Zahid Sheikh alias Mujahid and Arif, and their local host Kamal Mia at the DB office about the terror network of Daud Ibrahim in the country and their local patrons.
Following information extracted from them, several teams of the DB police are now conducting raids at different parts of the city and its adjoining areas along with some districts for arresting the accomplices of Daud Ibrahim.
Talking to this correspondent, DC of DB Monirul Islam said yesterday, “We have got some vital information from the accomplices of Daud Ibrahim and on the basis of that we will continue to raid different parts of
the country for arresting the syndicate members of the international mafia don.”
“During the interrogation, we have got vital information from the arrested Daud accomplices,” he said. But he declined to divulge more “for the sake of the investigation”. Asked about interrogation of the three Indian criminals and their local host at the Task Force Interrogation (TFI) cell, he said, “We have already applied to the TFI cell personnel to interrogate the criminals at the cell. But we are yet to get any response from them till now.”
Replying to a query about the reason for beefing up security measures at the DB office, he said, ” This is nothing but a routine matter.”
Earlier on May 27, Daud Merchant, Zahid and their local host were arrested from South Mourail in Brahmanbaria district, while Arif was arrested on Saturday night form Krishi Market under Mohammadpur police station in the capital following information extracted from the earlier arrested people.
A Dhaka court on Sunday granted seven-day police remand for Arif Hussain, a suspected cohort of India’s underworld don Daud Ibrahim, who was arrested on Saturday.
The DB also remanded convicted Indian outlaw Abdur Rouf Daud Merchant and his associates Indian national Md Zahid Sheikh and Bangladesh national Kamal Mia for another six days at the end of their eight-day remand. On May 29 DB police arrested them.
Arif had been hiding in Dhaka since the murder of a Mumbai trader Bhaskar Shethi. Confessing his involvement in the killing of Bhaskar Shethi, he said that he fled to Bangladesh as soon as he got bail in the case in 2001, DB police sources said. Arif is a close associate of Zahid Sheikh and maintains contact with Daud Ibrahim. He came to Bangladesh to facilitate Ibrahim’s criminal activities, police said.
Police filed a case with Mohammadpur thana against Arif on Saturday under the Foreigners’ Act, accusing him of illegally entering and staying in the country. DB inspector Ashraf Hossain has been appointed investigating officer in the case.
Police said Merchant was an accused in the music baron Gulshan Kumar murder case, in which he was sentenced to life term and Zahid escaped from India eight years ago after he carried out the killings of Moyez Uddin, Shibaji Rao and Bappan Sing.
Courtesy of The Independent