Allegations of extremist activities under the guise of martial arts training, confessions of 2 accused

All seven accused arrested in the case filed in Jatrabari in the capital on the charge of conducting extremist activities under the guise of martial arts training are currently in jail. Of these, two accused have given confessional statements in court under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code, police said.

The main accused in the case, Shah Amanat Sabir and Md. Tahsin Islam, gave their statements in court. After recording their statements, the court ordered them to be sent to jail. On the other hand, the remaining five accused have also been sent to jail after being remanded.

The Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU) of the police is currently investigating the case.

According to court sources, Md. Tahsin Islam gave his statement in the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Jamshed Alam on Saturday (July 18). Earlier on Thursday, Shah Amanat Sabir made a similar statement in the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Monirul Islam.

SI Mohin Uddin, an officer of the prosecution department of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said that two of the seven people arrested in the case have confessed to their involvement in the court. After the remand, Md. Hossain Tanim, Md. Junayed, Ataullah Shah, Md. Abidur Rahman and Md. Biojit have also been sent to jail.

Raid in Jatrabari

According to the case statement, on July 5, the police conducted a raid on a sand field in the 'Mini Cox's Bazar' area of ​​Jatrabari. There, suspicions were raised about a martial arts training program being conducted under a banner called 'Fatah Combat System'.

The police claim that allegations of conducting extremist activities and recruiting members were found under the guise of that training. Initially, six people were arrested during the raid. Later, based on the information provided by them, Md. Tahsin Islam alias Sultan alias Musanna was arrested.

A sub-inspector of Jatrabari Police Station filed a case against 16 people under the Anti-Terrorism Act in this incident.

Allegations of online communication

Investigators claim that the arrested people were in contact with an organization called 'Sabir Bhaiyer Jamaat'. According to the police, members were recruited under the guise of teaching martial arts using a social media page called 'Fatah Combat System'.

The police also claimed that the members used to communicate under pseudonyms on online platforms like Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp and Telegram.

Jatrabari Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Raju said that the accused were arrested after the initial investigation found the allegations true. The ATU is now investigating the case in more detail. Efforts are also underway to identify and arrest the absconding accused.

Defense's statement

The defense's lawyers denied the charges and said their clients were innocent. They claimed that the purpose of the martial arts training was to teach self-defense techniques and had nothing to do with extremist activities.

The state claimed that the interrogation was necessary to obtain information from the defendants about the organization's activities, communication systems, and other members. The court granted their remand after the hearing.

Investigators say that the allegations of creating a secret network and recruiting members using social media are being investigated seriously.