Most of the senior leaders of Chittagong unit of Jamaat-e-Islami and its student association Islami Chhatra Shibir including Jamaat lawmaker ANM Shamsul Islam and former Jamaat lawmaker Shahajahan Chowdhury, went into hiding fearing arrest, leaving organisational activities almost inoperative. As a result, there was no significant presence of the Jamaat-Shibir leaders in its recent activities including the 18-party alliance called hartals and different protest programmes in the city and Chittagong district.
From underground, the Jamaat-Shibir leaders are reportedly planning to commit massive subversion in Chittagong. The intelligence agencies and police administration, remaining on high alert, are also aware of the possible subversion of Jamat-Shibir. Besides, police have been conducting combing operation at different areas in a bid to nab the absconding Jamaat-Shibir leaders and foil their plan.
A high-official of Chittagong police administration, preferring anonymity, told The Independent this afternoon that following the arrest of some leaders, most of the leaders of Jamaat-Shibir had gone into hiding and been leading the party men from behind the scene.
“We’re conducting combing operation at different areas of Chittagong and the country to nab the Jamaat-Shibir leaders who have been accused in different cases,”
he said.
Police have already managed to nab some of the senior leaders of Chittagong Jamaat-e-Islami, he added.
Meanwhile, members of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) in a drive on Friday arrested Chief (Ameer) of Kotwali Thana Jamaat-e-Islami Faisal Mohammad Yunus from city’s Chawk
Bazar area while he was trying to flee away on-boarding a private car.
Shah Mohammad Abdur Rouf, Assistant Commissioner (Panchlaish Zone) of CMP, also Acting Assistant Commissioner (Kotwali Zone), told The Independent, Kotwali police arrested Yunus from near Keyari Elysium, a shopping mall run by Jamaat, at about 2:00 pm. “The arrested Jamaat leader is accused of a number of cases filed with different police stations for different charges including vandalism, arson and explosive substances,” he added saying Yunus was on hiding since filing the cases.
On April 25, Chittagong district police managed to nab Chittagong south district unit Chief (Ameer) of Jamaat-e-Islami Zafar Sadek from a Jamaat-Shibir run private clinic, located at city’s Mehedibag area.
He went into hiding after the violence and attack on minority communities at different areas of Chittagong south district and laying siege to Chittagong-Cox’s Bazaar highway following the death sentence of their leader Delwar Hossain Sayeedi.
According to different intelligence agencies, Zafar Sadek chalked out the plan to commit violence at Satkania, Lohagara and Banshkhali upazila of Chittagong district if Delwar Hossain Sayeedi was sentenced to death on war crime charges on February 28.
On April 29, the Kotwali police arrested Secretary in-Charge of Chittagong south district Jamaat-e-Islami Mohammad Nurullah along with four other Jamaat-Shibir men from city’s Didar Market while he was planning to commit massive subversion in the city. Police recovered Tk. 17 lakh from his possession.
In a joint drive conducted at different areas of Satkania upazila on April 19, members of different law enforcement agencies arrested six accused of different cases filed in connection with violence at Satkania. Members of police, Armed Police Battalion (APBn) and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) took part the joint drive.
On May 11, police in drive arrested five Shibir men including their central leader Faruk-e-Azam from different city areas. Sitakund police in two separate drives on May 11 and May 22, arrested local Jamaat leaders Ashraf Uddin and Nizam Uddin.
Sources close to the CMP and Chittagong district police said, almost all the leaders of Chittagong unit of Jamaat-e-Islami are accused of different cases filed with different police stations for recent anarchy in Chittagong. As a result, the accused Jamaat leaders went into hiding in a bid to avoid police arrest.
-With The Independent input
