CHITTAGONG: Five Islamic militant organizations functioning in Nepal bordering Bihar and Uttar Pradesh (UP) of India are trying to be active in Bangladesh’s Chittagong area.

The organizations are Millat-e-Islamia, Islami Sangha of Nepal, Ittehadul Muslemin, Muslim Sheba Samity and Muslim Jubo Samity.

Police got the information that members of these outfits are entering Bangladesh and trying to set up network with the ultra-fanatic Islamic groups of this country.

Police has information that they are working with the aim of setting up militant dens in the Rohingya inhibited in Cox’s Bazar and in other parts of greater Chittagong.

Police also got the tips that a foreign intelligence agency, several NGOs from UK, Turkey and Middle East and some Nepalese fundamentalists groups are financing them to materialize their plans.

Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) on last February 17 was alerted through a fax message from special branch of police that five Nepalese fundamentalists groups have become active.

After that the CMP are seriously trying to search them out. Police is giving a vigilant attention on some influential NGOs financed from abroad.

CMP Additional Deputy Commissioner (Detective) Babul Akhtar told banglanews that though Nepal is a Hindu majority state, still there are more than fifty percent Muslims in a number of districts.

In these areas five fundamentalist groups are active and they are now trying to set up a network in Bangladesh, there is such authentic information.

After investigation, it was revealed that in 2013 Indian Law enforcers separately arrested the bomb expert of Pakistan based militant outfit Laskar-e-Taiba’s Abdul Karim Tunda and Indian militant organization Indian Mujahideen’s founder Yasin Bhatkal.

In interrogation by the Indian police both informed that they were coming to Bangladesh via Nepal.

A high official of CMP told banglanews that Yasin’s real name is Ahmed Siddibappa who was an inhabitant of Bhatkal of Karnataka.

In 2007 Yasin and his two brothers Riaz and Iqbal founded the Indian Mujahideen. They carried out bomb attacks across India and after every incident they admitted their involvement in the explosion through e-mail messages.      

From investigation, it is learnt that Abdul Karim Tunda came to the lime light as a militant in the eighties who was born in Delhi of India.

In the year, his one hand was blown away in 1985 while making bomb. He was accused in more than 33 cases including the Mumbai bomb explosion in 1993.

That police official informed that Tunda and Bhatkal’s next target was Bangladesh in collusion with Nepalese fundamentalists.

The alert message said though Tunda and Bhatkal were arrested the Nepalese outfits are still active in Bangladesh. That message mentioned that the members of these organizations are visiting here frequently and their contacts with local fundamentalists have increased.    

According to police sources, an intelligence agency of a Muslim majority country in South Asia, as part of their long term militant activities in India, they have also intensified their militant activities in Bangladesh.

For a long time they are working to help migration to Bangladesh of the Muslims of Nepal’s eastern areas Bara, Dhanusha, Sirha and Senory districts.

In last January, Nepal immigration police arrested four Bangladeshi passport holders who admitted that they were Rohingyas and possessing fake passports, police sources said.

According to the sources, the Muslim population sized more than fifty percent of the areas of Nepal bordering Bihar and UP, in Bakey, Kapilabusta, Parsa and Rawahat.

In these areas about 350 mosques and 300 madrashas are being run with the funds from Middle East.

That high-up police officer of CMP informed that several NGOs are helping the fundamentalist groups in running their activities.

These NGOs are also active in Bangladesh. Practically, foreign intelligence agencies, Middle East based NGOs, an international human rights organization and several Bangladeshi extremist leaders are working here as a joint network.

But we are yet to get specific proof about this assumption.

According to sources, in Nepal and in Bangladesh an NGO of UK is working simultaneously.

A voluntary organization of Turkey, against which there were allegations in 2011 and 2012 for conducting unapproved activities in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, is also now working in Nepal.

Similarly, a human rights organization, a worldwide loan giving bank for constructing infrastructure in Muslim countries and a local NGO have intensified their activities in Nepal centering mosques and madrashas.

The message instructed the CMP to remain high alert about the international donors and voluntary organizations.

The message informed that a Nepalese does not require any visa to get entry in India and from there they are coming to Bangladesh by road.

Even the nationals of USA, UK, Germany, Turkey, Spain and Holland are coming to Nepal on tourist visas and there from they are making entry in Bangladesh availing ‘on arrival visa’.

In the alert message police have been instructed to be vigilant at the immigration check posts and issuing on arrival visa to stop this type of visitors to check intrusion of unwanted foreigners.

BDST: 1843 HRS, MAR 13, 2014