Based on intelligence information, the ATU team cordoned off a five-storey building at Rupnagar area around 1:30am on Saturday
 
A team of Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU) has arrested five members of a family from a building at Rupnagar in Mirpur, for their suspected involvement with banned militant outfit Ansar al-Islam, popularly known as Ansarullah Bangla team (ABT).

They arrestees are: Ahmed Ali, 57; his wife Salma Ahmed, 50; their son Jakaria, 35; Kibria, 30 and daughter Asma Ferdous Dipa, 25.

Md Moniruzzaman, additional deputy inspector general (DIG) of police, told  that based on intelligence information, the ATU team cordoned off a five-storey building at Rupnagar area around 1:30am on Saturday.

Around 2am, police went up to the third floor and knocked on the door of a flat, asking the suspected militants to open the door. However, getting no response, police broke inside, whereupon the residents - all members of the same family - attacked them with sharp weapons.

In retaliation, police fired shots at them. Three members of the ATU team and Jakaria, one of the members of the family, were injured during the exchange, Md Moniruzzaman said. 

"When we broke in, we found that the family members had opened a tap inside, and flooded the entire flat," the DIG said. "We recovered a few sharp weapons, chemicals and explosive materials there."

Jakaria was admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), while the three injured police officials were admitted to Rajarbagh Police Lines Hospital, he added.

Md Moniruzzaman claimed all of them are members of ABT, an Islamist extremist group with suspected ties with Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami.

 â€œWe are still investigating the matter,” he said.

Deshsangbad/Al-amin Alo