May 19: Nur Mohammad, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Rajshahi Range, has said a special drive is going to start soon in the outlaw-infested districts of Rajshahi, Naogaon, Natore and Pabna to flush out the leaders and activists of Purba Banglar Communist Party (PBCP), better known as Sarbahara.

Talking to the Independent at his office this afternoon, the DIG also said the police were trying to arrest Bangla Bhai, the self proclaimed saviour of the people terrorised by the outlaws.” No one is above law and no one should take law in his own hands”, he said, adding that though no case was filed against Bangla Bhai in any thanas of the district, the police would hunt him down for inciting violence in the region. He informed that order had been issued from the police headquarters to arrest Bangla Bhai and police were searching for him.

He claimed that the situation in Bagmara was now totally under control of the law enforcing agencies. The people of the villages of Bagmara are themselves policing the areas and were guarding the villages round-the-clock against possible attacks by PBCP terrorists. He further said that police action would soon be geared up in the area to arrest the cadres of PBCP.” The action against the PBCP will be sustained and vigorous. “The terrorists will not be spared”, he added.

The DIG expressed his disappointment that for the last ten years the people of Bagmara, Atrai, Rani Nagar, Naldanga and other areas had been suffering as the PBCP had virtually held them hostages. He informed huge contingents of police would be deployed in all the troubled areas to conduct a massive search for the extremists, a large number of checkposts would be set up in the areas and intelligence network spread to hunt down the listed terrorists. He said that after the cleansing operation by police, he would request the paramilitary forces to flush out the remnants of the terrorists probably from the first week of next month. He claimed that the law and order situation in Bagmara was far better now than any time before.

He, however denied reports that Bangla Bhai was an intelligence agent in disguise.

Meanwhile, Masud Mia, Superintendent of Police of Rajshahi, while taking to this correspondent, insisted that Bangla Bhai was not in Rajshahi now. He took a swipe at the media accusing it of working as a syndicate in defence of the terrorists of PBCP. Taking the side of Bangla Bhai he said that when the terrorists of PBCP were arrested, many opposition political leaders and a section of media protested the action of police and Bangla Bhai and published “concocted stories” about Bangla Bhai and his activities.

Masud Mia said that all the 16 unions of Bagmara have been sealed off, 18 temporary police camps set up in Bagmara thana and some 30 in other thanas of the district. He said that 20 out of 40 top killers of PBCP have already been arrested. He said that most of their local collaborators, who were forced to join the PBCP have now returned to normal life. Most of those collaborators of PBCP belonged to Workers Party, the SP claimed.

Sources said, people in Raninagar thana believed that Bangla Bhai was still staying in the area organising his party. They said, on Monday last Bangla Bhai organised a camp of JMJ in Vitigram of Raninagar. The villagers of Sharia, meanwhile, informed that on the night of Monday, three groups of people were keeping vigilance in the area, two of the groups belonged to JMJ and the other was of PBCP in the guise of JMJ.

It is learnt, the activities of JMJ was still going on in Raninagar and Atrai upazilas. The members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) have been deployed in the troubled areas of Raninagar, police sources in Naogaon indicated.

Meanwhile, two persons were arrested in connection with the murder of two activists of Jagrata Muslim Janata (JMJ) Nazrul Islam Fakir and Abdur Rashid in Sharia village under Raninagar thana of Naogaon district Monday night.

The arrested have been identified as Niren, son of Ramesh of Nagorkanda village under Nandigram thana of Bogra district and Fazal, son of Abdus Sattar of Bon Malikuri village under Raninagar thana of Naogaon district.

Police sources in Naogaon said, police rounded up a total of 15 people from different villages in connection with the double murder and all but only two were released after interrogation.

Meanwhile, Raushan Ara, mother of slain Nazrul, filed a case with Raninagar thana accusing nine persons yesterday.