The Rapid Action Battalion has published a list of 38 suspected militants after tracing as many as 55 youths who left their homes in the last two years to take up militancy, bdnews24.com reports.
After being exposed to indoctrination, these young men tended to leave their families behind within two years, sometimes in less than two months, according to RAB spokesman Commander Khandaker Al Moin. They were later trained as militants in the remote hills of Bandarban.
On Sunday, the RAB arrested Habibullah, imam of Cumilla's Koba Mosque, Niamat Ullah, Mohammad Hossain, Rakib Hasnat alias Niloy, and Saiful Islam alias Zayed Chowdhury Roni in the capital's Jatrabari and Keraniganj areas. They face charges of inspiring youths to join militancy and financing terrorism.
Through Niamat Ullah, Habibullah became a member of 'Jamatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharkkiyo', a new militant group formed by former members of banned Islamist outfits Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh and Ansar Al Islam two years ago, said Moin.
Since then, Habibullah has been running a madrasa in Bandarban's Naikhongchhari.
"He is also one of the financiers of this organisation. He raised funds for it by giving talks at various madrasas. Habibullah was responsible for recruiting and indoctrinating the seven missing students from Cumilla."
"The missing youths are being trained under the guidance of a few separatist groups in the hilly district. They are staying there as members of the new militant organisation. They have been trained in bomb-making and are being prepared to take part in armed conflict."
The RAB is working to uncover their plans, and a coordinated operation is underway to track down the militants, according to Moin. "We'll learn more about their plans if we can make more arrests."
The investigation that led to the discovery of the new militant outfit started when seven college students from Cumilla and Dhaka went missing on Aug 23. Their families subsequently went to the police to locate their whereabouts.
Later, the authorities revealed that the youths had left their homes due to their 'involvement in militancy'.
After arresting seven people, including two of the missing students from Cumilla, RAB said on Oct 6 that all of them were associated with Jamatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharkkiyo.