Dhaka Bureau: Officials of the Counter Terrorism and Transcrime Unit (CTTU) of the police said that two terrorists were snatched from the courthouse in Dhaka under the plan and instructions of the top level leaders of the banned militant organization Ansar Al Islam. And it is also reported that it was planned six months before the incident.
CTTC chief Mohammad Asaduzzaman said in a press conference at DMP’s media center on Saturday (April 8) afternoon that two people were arrested from the premises of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court of Dhaka’s Kotyali police station on Friday (April 7). They are Fatema Tasneem alias Shikha and Husna Akhtar alias Husna. Fatema Tasneem Shikha completed her BSc in engineering in 2014 with a first-class grade. At one stage, she was initiated into the ideals of Ansar Al Islam through her brother Mozzammel Hussain alias Simon, and later she was married to Abu Siddique Sohail through Simon. Sohail was a member of the military (Askari) wing of Ansar al-Islam.
She said that after her marriage with Sohail, she became more deeply involved with the organization. In 2017, Abu Siddique Sohail was arrested as an accused in the murder case of open-minded bloggers Abhijit Roy, Dipan, and Niladri Niloy. After the arrest, Shikha started actively participating in the activities of the organization by keeping in touch with the other members of the organization, including the imprisoned Sohal, through various apps. According to the plan and instructions of the top leaders of Ansar al-Islam, after the court proceedings on November 20 of last year, the militant robbery was planned by attacking the police. Shikha participates directly in these activities.
He also said that the members of Ansar al-Islam, hiding their identities, rented several Ansar houses in Dhaka and its neighboring districts for the purpose of planning, preparing, and coordinating the entire terrorist robbery. There, Ayman and Shikha, the senior leader of Ansar al-Islam and the responsible leader of the military wing, held regular meetings with anonymous Ansar al-Islam members.
Asaduzzaman said that the terrorist robbery was planned about six months before the incident. While appearing in the CMM Court from Kashimpur Central Jail, it was decided to implement this plan, and Shikha was given the responsibility as the coordinator of the plan. Later on the day of the incident, he arrived at the CMM Court area and strategically separated himself from his father. He then contacted Mashiur Rahman alias Ayman, a member of Ansar Al Islam who led the robbery incident, and actively participated in the implementation of the entire plan.
It is to be noted that at around 12:30 PM on November 20, Abu Siddique Sohail and Mainul Hasan Shamim, members of the Ansarullah Bangla Team, who were sentenced to death in the murder case of publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan, were abducted by the police from the lower court premises in Dhaka. Police Inspector Julhas Uddin Akand filed a case against 20 militants in this incident.
