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Published : 07 Mar 2025, 01:13 PM
The Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime, or CTTC, unit of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, has announced the arrest of three members of Hizb ut-Tahrir, a banned Islamist organisation. They were planning to attend a programme at the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque, according to the CTTC.
The detainees were identified as Monirul Islam, 40, Mohtasin Billah, 40, and Mahmudul Hasan, 21.
They were taken into custody from Uttara sectors 11 and 12 around midnight on Thursday, said Muhammad Talebur Rahman, deputy commissioner of DMP's media and public relations department.
He added that the CTTC was working to "take action" against their other affiliates.
According to a DMP statement issued on Friday, the three were apprehended during a raid based on intelligence that certain active members of Hizb ut-Tahrir were "secretly plotting" to stage a gathering named “March for Khilafa” in the Baitul Mukarram Mosque area on Friday.
As per the statement, Uttara West Police Station has filed a case against them under the Anti-Terrorism Act. During their initial interrogation, all of the detainees admitted to being active members of Hizb ut-Tahrir, and the evidence taken from them supports this admission.
Following the transition of power, the religious-based group Hizb ut-Tahrir restarted their operations, with the primary objective of creating an Islamic caliphate and implementing Sharia law through their political activities.
The organisation, which previously conducted its activities in secret, is now carrying them out more publicly. On Friday, they announced a programme at Baitul Mukarram. Members handed out pamphlets and hung posters across Dhaka, including Dhaka University, to publicise the event.
The DMP had issued a warning on Thursday, saying "action will be taken" if the banned group attempted to host a meeting at Baitul Mukarram. Then, around midnight, police raided Uttara and arrested three members of the organisation.
On Aug 5, the day the Awami League government was toppled, Hizb ut-Tahrir leaders and activists staged a procession in Dhaka. Following this, they held a roundtable meeting in the capital to voice various demands. Similar programmes were also organised in Chattogram.
In an interview with BBC Bangla, Imtiaz Selim, the organisation's media coordinator, stated that while their volunteers actively participated in the effort to topple the government, they did not disclose their affiliation with the group.
After the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government, Hizb ut-Tahrir posters were plastered across the demolished site of "Deepto Shopoth”, a sculpture constructed in remembrance of the police officer slain in the terrorist attack at the Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan.
Hizb ut-Tahrir, which began operations in Bangladesh in 2001, petitioned the Ministry of Home Affairs in September to lift the ban on the organisation, but the government has yet to respond.
