Clicky
National, Front Page

14-YEAR OF COUNTRY-WIDE BOMB BLASTS

No full functioning anti-terrorism unit

ATU awaits Law Ministry nod for investigation power


Published : 18 Aug 2019 12:12 AM | Updated : 07 Sep 2020 05:36 PM

Even after 14 years of the country-wide bomb blasts by terrorists group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), some counter-terrorism experts opined that country yet to have any complete anti-terrorism body which is properly functioning.

As a result, the banned Islamists militant groups are continuously recruiting new members for their terror networks.

They are also trying to show up their existence by plotting high power explosives targeting police personnel, collecting military grade arms and ammunition despite continuous drives by the law enforcing agencies across the country.

Leading anti-terrorism experts said due to the lack of a complete and comprehensive counter terrorism organization in the country, militancy could not be properly curbed even after 14 years of the simultaneous bomb blasts in around 500 places in 63 districts of the country on August 17, 2005.

Till the deadly Holey Artisan militant attacks in city’s diplomatic enclave Gulshan in 2016, no counter terrorism body was formed in Bangladesh.

However, in August 2011, Police Headquarters recommended to form a special unit, called Police Bureau of Counter-Terrorism. Three years were wasted only to send a proposal to the Public Administration Ministry for forming the special unit to combat militancy.   

The Home Ministry sent the proposal to the Public Administration Ministry in  September 2013. But no effective results were seen in this regard. Bangladesh saw a rise in militant attacks in 2015, which significantly increased the demand for a  separate unit for combating militancy. Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime of Dhaka Metropolitan Police was formed with 600 personnel on 16 February in 2016, which is the first anti-terrorism unit of the country. After the terror attacks in Holey Artisan café, CTTC started massive anti-militant operations across the country. But as the CTTC was a specialized unit of DMP, it needs permission before conducting any operation outside the capital.

After the Holey Artisan attacks, CTTC successfully contained militancy through conducting several successful drives in  the country.

But CTTC cannot investigate any militancy cases outside the capital. In that cases, local police have to investigate the cases, who have no expertise in dealing with militancy.

Dealing with militancy is not same as  dealing with other crimes. Militants grow and are radicalized by a specific radical ideology. Investigators have to grill the militants applying some specific tactics. They have to motivate, even sometimes de-radicalize the militants by counter motivations. As a result, in 2017, a full-fledged Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU) with a nationwide jurisdiction to combat militancy and terrorism was formed by the Public Security Division of home ministry.

With its headquarter in Dhaka, the ATU  has 581 posts. ATU has 31 permanent cadre and 550 temporary, and 41 vehicles.

Headed by an additional inspector general, the ATU has a deputy inspector general (DIG), two additional DIGs, five superintendents of police (SP), 10 additional SPs, 12 assistant SPs, 75 inspectors, 125 sub-inspectors, 140 assistant sub-inspectors, 200 constables and 10 office staff. But ATU also could not start full functioning only because of a law ministry’s gazette notification, sources said. 

Talking to the Bangladesh Post on Saturday, Md Moniruzzaman, additional deputy inspector general of police of ATU said, “Though ATU was formed in 2017, it started functioning in 2018.”

We have started functioning, even we have started anti-terrorist drives. But we have yet to start investigation on militancy related cases, he added.

Responding to a query, the leading counter terrorism official said, “Every new organization needs some time to start functioning properly.”

At present, we are ready for full functioning, he said while responding on the current manpower of the country’s only full-fledged anti-terrorism unit.

According to the sources, ATU through Police Headquarters sent proposal to the Home Ministry for power to investigate militancy related cases. The Home Ministry later forwarded it to the Law Ministry.

It is now waiting in the law ministry for final decision. If the law ministry approves the gazette notification, for example today, ATU will be able to start investigation in all militancy cases across the country from tomorrow, said a top ATU official on condition of anonymity.