Two suspected members of the new militant group ‘Jamatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya’ were arrested in Kutupalong Rohingya camp in Ukhiya Upazila of Cox's Bazar on Monday.
A team of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) personnel arrested the militant suspects.
Commander Khandaker Al Moin, director of Legal and Media Wing at the RAB headquarters, said in the continuation of the operation, RAB confirmed through intelligence information that the head of the military wing of the militant organisation Masukur Rahman alias Ranbir alias Masud and IED or bomb expert Md Abul Bashar Mridha alias Alam are staying in the Rohingya camp of Cox's Bazar.
“Based on that information, the RAB Headquarters Intelligence Branch, RAB-2, RAB-3 and RAB-15 started a joint combing operation at A-Block of Rohingya Camp-7 from 5:00am,” he said.
He said during the operations, military wing chief Ranbir and bomb expert Bashar tried to escape from the camp, but RAB members arrested the duo.
During the operations, RAB members seized one foreign pistol, 3 magazines of, 10 rounds of pistol bullets, one blank cartridge, two single-barrelled guns, 11 pieces of 12 bore cartridges, one empty magazine, 100 rounds of .22 bore bullets, one mobile phone and cash Tk 2.57 lakh from their possession, he added.
Commander Moin said, RAB published a list of 55 people who were training in the name of so-called Hijrat, leaving their homes and taking shelter in the mountains. The name of arrested Abul Bashar was in that list.
In response to a question, Moin said, “We have just arrested them. They will be interrogated in detail. It will be investigated if they have shelter-providers, money and weapons supplier, and whether they have any connection with the robbery-kidnapping in Teknaf and Bandarban hills.”