Police sue 2 suspected militants

Police yesterday sued two suspected militants, who are in law enforcers' custody, and “some other” unnamed people for the Eid-day attack near Sholakia Eidgah in Kishoreganj that left four people, including two policemen, dead.

Mohammad Shamsuddin, officer-in-charge (investigation) of Pakundia Police Station, filed the case with Kishoreganj Sadar Police Station under Anti-Terrorism Act-2009, said Sub-inspector (SI) Shafiqul Islam of the sadar police station.

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A 15-member police team, led by the OC, came under attack when they were frisking people at a check post near Azim Uddin High School, some half kilometre away from the Sholakia Eidgah.

The two suspected militants who were sued are Shariful Islam alias Shafiul Islam alias Saiful Islam, 22, of Raniganj Bazar in Ghoraghat Upazila of Dinajpur and Jahidul Haque Tanim, 24, of Pashim Tarapasha village in Kishoreganj Sadar Upazila.

Shariful and Tanim were caught on the spot following over an hour-long gun battle between law enforcers and attackers, said the SI.

Bullet-hit Shariful is in Rapid Action Battalion custody and undergoing treatment at Mymensingh Medical College Hospital while Tanim is in police custody,

Morshed Zaman, officer-in-charge (investigation) of Kishoreganj Sadar Police Station, told The Daily Star yesterday.

“We will produce them before the court soon,” he said.

The attack was carried out in a planned way to undermine the security and sovereignty of the country, create panic among the people and tarnish the country's image globally, the case documents reads.

Around 8:45am that day, assailants attacked policemen with sharp weapons, guns and bombs, leaving two police constables dead.

Jharna Rani Bhowmik, a local, died after a stray bullet from the gunfight between the law enforcers and the attackers came through her window and hit her. A suspected attacker was also killed.

The attack was carried out barely six days after the gruesome attack on a restaurant in Dhaka's diplomatic zone where gunmen killed 20 hostages and two police officers in a 12-hour siege.

SITE Intelligence group that monitors terror activities said Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the Gulshan attack. However, no one has claimed credit for the other attack yet.

However, Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidul Hoque on Saturday said home-grown militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) was involved in both the incidents.