The Anti-Terrorism Unit has come to know that members of the banned terrorist outfit of Ansarullah Bangla Team are trying to collect arms and ammunition to carry out terror attacks in the country.
A team of ATU arrested ABT active member Md Mahadi Hasan alias Shanto Hasan on August 2 from a house located on road no 25 under D Block in city’s Pallobi area.
Talking to the Bangladesh Post, Md Mahiduzzaman, SP of ATU( Legal and Media ) confirmed it.
During interrogation, we came to know that arrested ABT leader Abu Saleh Mohammad Zakaria in association with his close associates, including Shanto, was trying to collect arms and explosives.
At first, they were attempting to collect bit coins. Using these bit coins, they have planned to buy arms and ammunitions for the banned Islamist outfit.
ATU officials said ABT were communicating in their secrete groups and were discussing to raise funds and procure fire arms.
Shanto Hasan disclosed that ABT were attempting to raise funds for providing training to militants, buy Jhihadist publications and distributing these publications among the newly recruited ABT members.
They also need money to meet expenses of ABT members and circulating Jihadist propaganda materials through online platform.
Responding to a question, SP Mahiduzzaman said, “ABT militants targeted to collect funds from various sources.”
Arrested terror Zakaria gave money to Shato Hasan through his brother Kibriya on a number of occasion.
Zakaria and Shanto collected local arms from different parts of the capital in a bid to organise training for militants.
ATU later seized some of these local arms from Shanto.
SP Mahiduzzaman said, “Getting information from Shanto, ATU is continuously conducting raids to arrest other members of this group.” ATU produced Shanto before a Dhaka Court after filing a case against him under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
ATU sought a seven days remand. However, the court has granted only four days.
Earlier on July 27, ATU arrested five members of a family in the capital’s Rupnagar area including Zakaria over their alleged involvement with banned militant outfit ABT.
ATU recovered some sharp weapons, remains of the exploded bomb, liquid chemical and some bomb-making equipment and materials from the flat.
According to the ATU officials the family members were persuaded by Zakaria to get involved in militancy. They said suspected militants used to hold meetings at the flat.
ABT militants killed progressive writers, bloggers, and LGBT rights activists. Despite carrying firearms, they mainly used machetes during the killings. In March 2017, the government banned ABT.