Rapid Action Battalion arrested two leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami including its city unit Assistant Secretary General Selim Uddin Selim from Karwan Bazar in the capital early Friday.
The other arrestee is Mahmudur Rahman, Nayeb-e-Ameer of Uttara Thana unit, Lt Col Ziaul Ahsan, director of the Rab intelligence wing, confirmed the arrests.
Rab-2 members arrested the duo from Garden Road in Karwan Bazar around 3:00am, the Rab director said.
On Wednesday, ICT-2 issued arrest warrants for three Jamaat leaders including Selim for showing ‘disobedience to a tribunal’s order’.
The three-member tribunal led by its chief Justice Obaidul Hassan asked the authorities concerned to produce the trio before it on or before March 21.
The two other leaders are Jamaat acting secretary general Rafiqul Islam Khan and Central Executive Council member Hamidur Rahman Azad.
The tribunal issued the arrest warrants as the three leaders did not appear before the tribunal for the fourth time on March 6 to explain a contempt of court rule issued against them.
Earlier on February 7, the tribunal asked the three to explain why contempt of court proceeding would not be initiated against them for making provocative and derogatory remarks about the tribunal and asked them to appear before the court on February 20. But they did not appear before the tribunal.
The tribunal issued the notice on the basis of reports published in The Daily Star and the Prothom Alo on February 5 on a Jamaat rally held in the city the previous day.
Later, the prosecution on February 26 sought issuance of arrest warrant to ensure their presence claiming their absence as “disobedience to the court’s order” to ensure their presence.
The tribunal extended time till March 3 asking them to appear before the court saying “necessary order” would be passed if the Jamaat leaders failed to appear before it.
The Prothom Alo quoted Selim Uddin as saying, “There is no scope for the controversial tribunal to deliver any verdict if the country is to be saved from a civil war.”
The Daily Star in a report headlined “Jamaat warns of civil war” quoted Rafiqul Islam as saying, “Don’t push the country into a civil war by delivering one-sided verdicts against our leaders. If anything happens to Quader Mollah, every house will be on fire.”
Our Jhenidah Correspondent adds: Police arrested three leaders of Jamaat and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir including the Jamaat’s Kotchandpur upazila unit ameer Tajul Islam Friday morning for attacking police, snatching fire arms from the law enforcers and preventing them from discharging their duties during a clash on February 28.
Imran Hossain, sub-inspector of Kotchandpur Police Station, said the law enforcers had arrested Tajul Islam, another Jamaat leader Maksudur Rahman and ex-ICS president of the upazila Dr Saad Ahmed from different areas in the upazila.
Source: The Daily Star
