Update: Two cases have already been filed against jihad promoter Wasik Billah Nomani (ওয়াসিক বিল্লাহ নোমানী) aka Choyon Kumar Das aka Waseq Billah Nomani. According to police sources, Nomani is a leader of pro-Caliphate Hefazat-e-Islam.
Officer in Charge of Kotwali Model Police Station has lodged a case against Nomani under Anti-Terrorism Act.
Meanwhile, seeking anonymity, a senior police official told Blitz, they were already investigating allegations of spreading anti-state and pro-terrorist propaganda in the society through social media and video sharing sites.
Following publication of an investigative report in Blitz, notorious jihad-promoter Waseq Billah Nomani [also known as Wasik Billah Nomani] has been arrested by Detective Branch of Bangladesh Police on allegations of delivering extremely provocative statements in favor of jihad and his pronouncement of solidarity with radical Islamic militancy groups such as Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT). Blitz has also published investigative reports about few more individuals, who were involved in spreading propaganda against the government during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
According to police sources, Nomani is the district secretary of a radical Islamic organization named Khairul Ummah. He was apprehended from his house at Sankipara in Mymensingh district. He graduated from the Anandamohan College in Mymensigh and had converted to Islam from Hinduism.
Speaking on the matter, Mymensingh Superintendent of Police (SP) Ahmar Uzzaman said: “Wasik Billah [Waseq Billah Nomani] had made a number of provocative statements on social media capitalizing on religious issues, which could lead to misdirection of the general public including creating religious divisions”.
Crimes committed by Waseq Billah Nomani
In the video content, Waseq Billah Nomani (ওয়াসিক বিল্লাহ নোমানী), who is mentioned as a “neo-Muslim” or a Hindu who got converted into Islam saying, he has 22-years’ experience on chopping heads and wants to chop the head of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, if he [Nomani] would find the Indian premier. He even went further saying, he would continue chopping heads of Hindus. And, most surprisingly, such notorious statements were made publicly in an Islamic program.
According to information, ‘Alif TV Official’ channel was launched on YouTube on December 14, 2014, while it has accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Contact number of this channel is 0173-661-5075. It also has another channel on YouTube named HRS HD WAZ 360. Owner of these channels is Hafizur Rahman Siddique.
Siddique also runs few more Islamic channels on YouTube. He falsely claims his channels being operated from the United Arab Emirates.
Waseq Billah Nomani pronounced support for the killers of blogger Abhijit Roy
Radical mullah Waseq Billah Nomani (ওয়াসিক বিল্লাহ নোমানী) went further by pronouncing support for the killers of blogger Abhijit Roy stating, those who insult the Prophet should be killed. He also said, those killers of Abhijit Roy deserve our salute. A desperate Waseq did not hesitate in expressing solidarity with the jihadists of Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT).
Terming the Bangladesh government as “enemies of Allah and his prophet”, Waseq Billah Nomani criticized the government and the judiciary for awarding death penalty to the killer of blogger Abhijit Roy.
This entire content on YouTube goes against the existing law of Bangladesh and individuals like Waseq Billah Nomani and his promoters deserve stern legal action.
Waseq Billah openly displayed sword
In presence of hundreds of people, a radical mullah Waseq Billah Nomani displays a sword stating non-Muslims deserve to be chopped. He even pronounced jihad against the “enemies of Prophet” and went further by pronouncing jihad against the Bangladesh government.
It may be mentioned here that, under the dynamic and magnanimous leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, law enforcement and intelligence agencies such as Bangladesh Police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit, the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), the National Security Intelligence (NSI) and other organs of Bangladesh government are working tirelessly in combating militancy and terrorism and already shown remarkable success in destroying networks of militancy and terrorist groups in the country.
Immediate measure needed to combat cyber jihad
As we know, notorious jihadist outfits such as Al Qaeda, Islamic State (ISIS) etcetera are simultaneously running two jihadist fronts – military front and cyber front. According to counterterrorism experts, in this age of advancement of communication technology and availability of several communication apps alongside social media and video sharing sites, cyber jihad is already becoming much tougher front as it can easily penetrate within households, mostly without being untracked by the law enforcement and intelligence agencies. For Bangladesh government, it is essential to pay special emphasis in taking appropriate measures along with necessary technological capabilities to combat the growth of jihadist platforms on social media, video sharing sites and other platforms. In case of necessity, Bangladesh can officially notify YouTube authorities requesting them to immediately remove those jihadist channels. At the same time, Bangladesh missions in the US and European nations can officially file complaints with their counterpart about existence of such jihadist platforms on YouTube, Facebook and other platforms.
