Cops cordon off ‘militant’ den in Netrokona

Staff Reporter :
Police have cordoned off a house in the Bhasapara area under Kailati union in Netrokona Sadar upazila, suspecting it to be a militant den.

The operation commenced after 1:00 PM on Saturday, leading to a significant police
presence around the two-storied building.

Authorities believe the house might be storing arms and explosives intended for militant training and the preliminary searches have already resulted in the recovery of weapons from the premises.

Asadullah Chowdhury, the Additional Inspector General of Police for the Mymensingh division, stated that expert teams from the Counter Terrorism Unit and SWAT have been summoned to the scene. “Details will be clearer once the expert teams arrive,” he added.

The house, built around 20 years ago by Abdul Mannan, a teacher at Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology (DUET), was initially intended to become a college.

However, Mannan was unable to fulfill this plan and rented out the property two years ago. Locals reported that following the rental, the boundary walls were heightened, and approximately 20 CCTV cameras were installed. Access to the house has since been restricted to outsiders.

According to police sources, the operation was led by Abul Kalam, the Officer-in-Charge of Netrokona Model Police Station, following a tip-off.

Items recovered from the house include a foreign pistol, 17 rounds of bullets, numerous toy guns, two walkie-talkies, a pair of handcuffs, and a large collection of jihadi books.