The battalion’s director (media wing), Mufti Mahmud Khan, declared the ending of the 19-hour long drive after five suspected extremists surrendered to RAB around 10:00am.
The relatives of the five extremists communicated with the battalion personnel on Saturday night and they also helped the law enforcers to make the extremists surrender, Mufti added.
The RAB members asked the extremists to surrender through their relatives in the morning, he said.
The bomb disposal unit of RAB found no arms or explosives after searching the house.
Later, the arrestees were sent to Dhaka for interrogation.
However, the district administration are yet to withdraw Section 144 from the area, said deputy commissioner Subhash Chandra Biswas, adding that they have not got any formal clearance from the RAB officials.
Replying to a query, Mufti said they cordoned off the house based on the information that the suspected extremists had a communication with those killed in Atia Mahal drive in Sylhet.
Whether the five arrestees are engaged with extremism is still not clear, he said.
Mufti did not disclose the names of the arrestees.
However, Saidur Rahman, one of the arrestees’ relative, said the five arrestees are — Abu Jafar, a post-graduate student of English department of Dhaka University, Mashiur Rahman, Bashirul Islam, Masudur Rahman and Salahuddin. Of them, Masudur Rahman and Salahuddin are the students of a local madrassah.
Jafar used to live in the house on rent along with Mashiur and Bashirul while Masudur and Salahuddin came to Jafar on Saturday afternoon for private tuition, Saidur added.
RAB members in association with local police cordoned off the house owned by one Moin Ahmed, a United Arab Emirates expatriate, suspecting the presence of extremists there on Saturday afternoon.
Locals said three students rented the house last month.
Source: New Age
