Kudos for capture

We are also gratified to note that the raid was accomplished following a tip-off by locals. This is a good sign. It indicates that members of the public are vigilant enough to note suspicious activity, and that they are bold enough and concerned enough to do something about it. The action also speaks of the close coordination between the police and local communities, which is the hallmark of good law enforcement.

The media has been writing about small and active groups of extremist stripes in Bangladesh for some time now. It should be noted that one of the arrestees is known as a leader of the notorious Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) and is the principal accused in a murder case.

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The government at first denied the presence of such elements and even denied the very existence of an extremist outfit like the JMJB which bloodied its hands with murders. Subsequently, people in authority even cast aspersions on those who documented the atrocities of militants before finally coming to a grudging acceptance of the problem.

The time has come for this kind of short-sighted denial response pattern to end. There is no question that there exist groups, though very small, who are given to extremist interpretation of Islam and are being trained and armed to be potentially dangerous.

The government should realise that militancy is a world-wide problem. We have seen its deadly effects recently in London. Other countries from Spain to Morocco to Indonesia are also facing the same. It does not diminish the government to acknowledge that we too have a problem with militancy, but it does diminish the government to pretend that it does not exist.

The time for the government taking umbrage and thinking that all reports of militancy are fabricated to discredit it is long past. The time has come for the government to face facts, and face them head-on. The recent raid, which was the result of collaboration between the locals and the police, shows that some members of the public and some within the administration are taking the threat seriously and taking affirmative measures. We all should be doing the same.