Outlaws regroup in Khulna ahead of polls
Several secret meetings held
Cadres of M-L faction of outlawed Purbo Banglar Communist Party (PBCP) are regrouping and have again raised their heads in outlaw-infested Rupsha, Terokhada and Phultala upazilas of Khulna district ahead of the planned parliamentary elction.
They held several secret meetings to plan criminal operations in the district including Khulna city.
Outlaws who were on the run after 1/11 have returned to their previous strongholds in the three upazilas, where the meetings were held, sources said.
Besides, most of the outlaws who were thrown behind the bars in connection with criminal cases have come out on bail. They are again demanding tolls from affluent people, giving them death threats.
According to intelligence sources, a group of armed cadres of M-L faction of PBCP held a secret meeting on the night of September 17 at Shahpara in Icegati union in Rupsha. Police could not arrest any one of the extremists though Icegati police camp is near meeting spot.
The underground party is recruiting new cadres by luring youths from families of jobless workers of different jute mills in Khulna industrial belt, the sources said.
They said a firearm and three bombs recovered by Rab-6 from near a shrimp processing factory in Rupsha upazlia on the night of September 17 were left by PBCP outlaws after getting information of raid.
Harun-ar-Rashid hailing from Moishaguni village in Rupsha upazila is now acting as Khulna divisional 'operations commander' of M-L faction of PBCP. He is wanted in 14 murder cases filed with different police stations in Khulna.
He recently held a secret meeting in Khulna city at the house of an extremist now detained in Khulna district jail to plan criminal operation.
The sources said a large number of extremists from Batiaghata, Rupsha, Dumuria, Phultala and Digholia upazilas are moving at large in Khulna city in the guise of rickshaw pullers, fish vendors and street hawkers.
Extremists plying rickshaws in are the main sources of underground parties to know about identities of affluent people targeted for tolls.
Khulna Police Superintendent YM Belalur Rahman, when asked, admitted that outlaws are again raising their heads. “We are trying to track down the terrorists and arrest them”, he said.
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