Jashimuddin Rahmani's release is a matter of concern for India as his terror group is reportedly trying to establish a jihadi network with the help of sleeper cells.
Dhaka: Bangladesh’s caretaker government has freed Jashimuddin Rahmani, the chief of the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), a terror outfit affiliated with Al Qaeda. The homegrown extremist group is behind the killings of several bloggers, writers, and gay rights activists in Bangladesh.
Rahmani, who has been accused of inciting terrorism through his sermons, was convicted for abetting the murder of blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider in 2013, the Dhaka Tribune reported. Rahmani's ABT was banned in Bangladesh in 2015 during Sheikh Hasina's rule. Later, it rebranded itself as Ansar al-Islam, which was again banned in 2017.
Rahmani's release is a matter of concern for India as ABT has been reportedly trying to establish a jihadi network with the help of sleeper cells. Several terrorists linked to ABT were arrested in India in the past. Terrorists Bahar Mia and Rarely Mia, were arrested at Guwahati railway station by the Assam Police in May this year.
According to an India Today report, Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) reportedly partnered with the ABT to carry out terrorist attacks in India's northeastern states. Intelligence inputs from 2022 also indicate that around 50 to 100 ABT cadres were planning to infiltrate Tripura.
