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Al-Hiqma chief held for storming police station

Staff Correspondent, Rajshahi
A 20-year-old who claims to command a banned Islamist militant group was arrested yesterday with four of his comrades including a Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) activist after being barred to hold a press conference.
Held at Boalia Police Station under Section 54 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPQ, the self-proclaimed commander in chief of
Shahadat-e-al-Hiqma, Sayed Kawsar Hussain Siddiki Raja, detailed to police and journalists how he plans to rout out the corruption and injustice of the government and its law enforcers.
Kawsar, who is currently on bail in three cases of sedition, possession of illegal arms and swindling, and his associates were arrested after they stormed into the police station yesterday noon demanding an explanation for barring them from holding a scheduled press conference at a local community centre.
Kawsar and his group have been on the police hit list since he was accused of plotting an armed movement to turn the country into an Islamic state in the sedition case filed on March 20,2003.
He had announced the press conference on November 2 and accordingly arrived with his companions at Swapnil Community Centre in the city in a hired microbus at around 11.30am.
But, the community centre's management refused to let them hold the conference citing law enforcers' directives, which angered and spurred the group to go to the police station to register protests.
Police seized Kawsar’s cellphone and some documents of al-Hiqma including the press statement he had prepared to present at the press conference from him. His coarrestees are M Mohsin, a fonner convenor of Nachol upazila JCD, Mujib, Ismail Hossain and M Zakaria. Police also held Anwarul Islam and Sharif, the driver and helper of their hired microbus.
But, witnesses said, one of Kawsar’s top aides, Hussain Bin Abdul Latif, managed to slink away from the station with some more documents.
THESTATEMENT
At the top of the 12-page press statement of al-Hiqma is imprinted its motto - 'Right use of arms is the lone way to check injustice'.
The statement labelled police a giant force of terrorists and accused them of heavy corruption. It said, "If the government fails to check police corruption, we will take our own course to do that"
Kawsar termed the ban on his party by the then home minister, Altaf Hossain Chowdhury, as baseless and said his party rejected the ban and challenged the government to impose it through the court if it can.
The statement threatened to launch an attack on the capital if the government 'misuses' its power against al-Hiqma operatives. "Beaware," it said, "We have the capability of attacking the capital. We will abide by nothing but the constitution and the judiciary. If you (government) have enough strength, go to court to get a ruling outlawing our party."
Kawsar also prepared a list of 31 persons, against whom he said he would bring sedition charges for drawing a blue print against the country. On the list are 12 journalists including The Daily Star Editor Mahfuz Anam, Prothom Alo Editor Motiur Rahman, Janakantha Editor Atikullah Khan Masud, Advisory Editor Toab Khan and Executive Editor Borhan Ahmed, and Ajker Kagoj Editor Kazi Shahed Ahmed. Among the political leaders listed by al-Hiqma are Workers Party Politburo Member Fazleh Hossain Badshah and Awami league leader AHM Khairuzzaman IJ ton.
During police interrogation, Kawsar said in the press conference he was going to announce a fresh political wing of al-Hiqma. The previous wing was announced on February8,2002.
He said the arrest of them was illegal as they received bail in all the three cases running against them. "Our success is 100 percent sure. We have many influential people behind us. No police and court of the country can keep us behind bars," said the boy-leader in revolutionary zeal.
MAKING OF A BIGOT
Describing his past and how he came to form and lead al-Hiqma, Kawsar said, "During the early 90’s, when I was in Class Six, I went to attend a public meeting of Khaleda Zia. But I was greatly shocked as some policemen rudely barred me from entering the meeting. It was then that I promised to myself to raise a political party like the BNP and become its head."
He started with forming an outfit titled Bangladesh Decoration Map having 32 members in 1996. The name of his party was changed to Islam! Samaj Sangskar Andolon in 1998 and again to Shahadat-e-al-Hiqma in 2001, which he boasted has a total of 110,000 members now.
"In 2002, we founded al-Hiqma Samaj Unnayan Shangstha to provide jobs and economical support for our activists. "Since then, we have been facing police harassment instigated by some political leaders and journalists," he alleged.