& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Cops join JMJB in anti-outlaw drive

STAFF CORRESPONDENT, Rajshahi
Islamist outfit Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh launched a combing operation against underground leftist outlaws in four north-
western districts yesterday, with undercover support from the police.
JMJB's gunmen, led by Siddiqul Islam, better known as Bangla Bhai, kicked off the operations from their
FROM PAGE 1
bases largely in mosques and madrasas in Rajshahi, Natore, Naogaon and Pabna against the operatives of Purbo Banglar Communist Party, kindling horror in the region.
Police officers talking privately to The Daily Star yesterday said Bangla Bhai's men could not catch a single top-listed outlaw, they rather oppressed hundreds of innocent people.
"They have a history of unleashing a reign of terror and indulging in robbery, extortion and other crimes," one of them alleged.
Noor Muhammad, deputy inspector general of Rajshahi range police, apparently declined police assistance to the vigilante group.
"Police are trying to arrest toplisted outlaws. Actions will be taken against policemen if they are found guilty of neglect of duty."
"We are also looking for Bangla Bhai, but he is not in Rajshahi," he said.
Local residents alleged that JMJB cadres beat up at least a dozen people up to Wednesday evening and police led by Masud Mia, superintendent of Rajshahi police, confined 10 people including
Jugipara Union Parishad Chairman Saiful Islam to Bagmara Police Station.
Police later released Saiful after 15 hours of confinement as several hundred villagers hemmed in the police station demanding his release.
They said Bangla Bhai was leading the police-aided anti-outlaw operation taking shelter at Aloknagar (Hamirkutsa) Sadar Jame Mosque in Bagmara and his nephew, Shahid, was in command of the entire region.
Bangla Bhai's key sidekicks Mustafiz, Shahdat Hossain, Majnu, Akkas Ali, Amjad Hossain, Nazrul, Naoshad, Abul, Abdul Matin, Abdul Hamid, Kafi, Ajhar and Boro Jalal are helping Shahid in the operation, they said.
JMJB raised protection money from villagers for the drive and asked them to contribute a maund of rice in every 20 maunds of harvest 'to their noble cause'.
Some villagers of the region who visited Rajshahi yesterday said Bangla Bhai's outfit was 'more ferocious than the leftist outlaws'.
"We want peace and tranquility in our villages," one of them said.