Bangladesh showed enviable success in curbing militancy: RAB DG

Dhaka: (Mir Afroz Zaman-UNI) Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun, Director General (DG) of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), said Bangladesh has shown enviable success in curbing militancy and terrorism.
He said if RAB had not eradicated militancy from Bangladesh, development of the country would not have been possible.
He was responding to a question from reporters after paying homage to the ‘Dipta Shapath’ sculpture on the occasion of sixth anniversary of the Holy Artisan attack in Gulshan on Friday.
Commander Khandaker Al Moin, Director of RAB’s Legal and Media wing and other senior officials of RAB headquarters were present on the occasion.
Assistant Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Detective Branch (DB) AC Rabiul Islam and then Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Banani Police Station Salauddin were killed in the Holy Artisan attack.
In their memory, a sculpture of the two officers named ‘Dipta Shapath’ was set up in front of the old building of Gulshan model police station.
Every year on the anniversary of the Holy Artisan attack, a glowing homage is given to the sculpture in their memory.
Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun said that 20 people, including 3 Bangladeshis, were killed in the tragic incident that took place in Holy Artisan on July 1, 2016. Two police officers were killed while on duty.
He said RAB has always been playing a strong role in curbing militancy and terrorism. Colonel Azad, the head of the RAB’s intelligence branch, was killed while on duty in an anti-militancy operation in Sylhet.
“We were able to take full control of the area within 12 hours after the Holy Artisan incident,” the RAB DG said. We created an environment conducive to conducting operations, he added.
He said that RAB has arrested 3,000 militants till date. We have arrested more than 1,500 militants following the the Holy Artisan incident. Notable among the arrested militants were Sarwar Jahan, the mastermind and head of New JMB, Shariful Islam Khaled and Mamnoor Rashid Ripon, who were involved in financing and planning the attack.
The RAB DG said, “Different forces conducted joint operations against the militants. As part of the Zero Tolerance Policy against government-declared militants, we have launched concerted operations to dismantle militant networks and their hideouts”.
“We are keeping an eye on militant activities in the cyber world to curb militancy and terrorism,” he added. All the law enforcement agencies are working together to curb militancy. That is why militancy is no longer able to demonstrate its capabilities. Even then we are not suffering from complacency, we are always alert, he said.
Mentioning that deradicalization of militants is being done, RAB DG said, “We have already deradicalized 16 militants. We have forced 18 militants to surrender. We are in constant touch with them so that they do not get involved in militancy again”.
He further said that if anyone wants to leave the path of militancy and come back to mainstream, RAB is encouraging those, who have not been involved in any crime, to choose the path of peace by radicalizing them. (UNI)

#Bangladesh, #Militancy, #Holy Artisan