Detective Branch (DB) of Bangladesh Police has arrested a member of the sleeper cell of terrorist group run by a UK-based terror funder. According to DB sources, eyeing on the grand inauguration of the Padma Bridge, Bangladesh’s symbol of pride and achievement, vested interest groups, including terror-funder Shahid Uddin Khan’s group members are plotting various types of subversive and terrorist acts. As part of Shahid Uddin Khan’s notorious plot of terrorist activities on June 25 inauguration day of the bridge, leaflets and posters were being circulated in the country with the ulterior agenda of creating confusion in the minds of people as well the well-disciplined forces in Bangladesh.
Shahid Uddin Khan, a former army officer in exile who was convicted in the court, is behind such notorious activities. The information was obtained by DB from the statement of Kaushikur Rahman, a member of the terrorist sleeper cell run under the command of Shahid Uddin Khan, who was arrested from the south gate of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque in the capital on June 11. A case was filed under Anti-Terrorism Act on June 12, 2022 (case number 25) with Motijheel Police Station in Dhaka. He has been remanded for interrogation for one day.
The DB official said that Kaushikur Rahman had distributed 2-3 thousand leaflets in Lalbagh, Dhanmondi and Motijheel areas of Dhaka city for 15-20 days before his arrest.
DB recovered 395 leaflets with picture of Shahid Uddin Khan from the arrested Kaushikur Rahman. On the left side of the leaflet there is a picture of Shahid Uddin Khan and on the right side are three handfuls of fists. In the middle is written ‘Hatao Mafia, Bachao Desh, (Drive-away mafia, save the country), It’s an instruction from Shaheed Sir’. ‘Bangladesh Zindabad’ is printed at the bottom of the leaflet with 10-point demands.
Sources in the investigating agency said that during interrogation, Kaushikur Rahman said eyeing on the inauguration of the Padma Bridge, Shaheed Uddin Khan had deployed some people to distribute leaflets and put up posters to confuse the people, including members of the well-disciplined forces.
Citing information obtained from Kaushikur Rahman during the interrogation, the DB official said that Kaushikur has admitted in the preliminary interrogation that his associates Khokon and Babu had given him the responsibility of printing and distributing the leaflets after receiving a large sum of money from Shahid Uddin Khan.
Police have filed a case against four persons under the anti-terrorism law at Paltan police station on June 12. The accused are Shahid Uddin, his close friend Khokon, Babu and arrested Kaushikur Rahman.
Abdullah Al Mamun, additional deputy commissioner of the Motijheel division of the DB, said efforts were being made to arrest the other three accused.
All police stations in Dhaka and outside Dhaka have been warned about this. If Shahid Uddin Khan and his associates are arrested, investigating agency will be able to know names of the members of the entire terrorist gang.
In 2018, Shahid Uddin Khan fled Bangladesh when several agencies began investigating his crimes, which include tax evasion, terror-finance, money-laundering, illegal land-grabbing and numerous forms of criminal activities.
According to our information, Md. Shahid Uddin Khan (Army No: BA002428, Course: 8-BMA, Commission Date: 10-06-1983) Khan, invested millions of pounds in the United Kingdom in exchange for obtaining immigrant status under Visa Tier 1, vide VAF No. 511702. The family had laundered an unknown amount of money and brought that into the United Kingdom via the United Arab Emirates and a few more countries, while Shahid Uddin Khan had invested over 18 million pounds for buying citizenship under Britain’s ‘Golden Visa’ scheme. In a video statement released on June 11, 2022 on his Facebook ID, Shahid Uddin Khan has openly admitted that the entire amount was smuggled into the United Kingdom from Bangladesh as the British authorities do not ask “anyone” as to how they brought such large sum of cash into the country.
On May 25, 2019. prestigious British newspaper The Sunday Times published a report stating Md Shahid Uddin Khan has been charged with funding terror groups, arms dealing and money laundering offenses in Bangladesh. According to the British newspaper, the sacked army officer has political links in Britain and had funded Stephen Hammonds, a Tory Party MP.
On June 14, 2019, Indian newspaper The Business Standard as well as IANS news agency in their report said: Indian intelligence agencies are probing a deep-rooted nexus involving underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and a London-based former Colonel of the Bangladesh army. The agencies suspect that the Bangladeshi army officer, allegedly involved in gun running, has links with Dawood Ibrahim’s underworld activities operating from India’s eastern borders.
