Hefajat leader Mamunul had close links to a Pakistani militant group, police claim

A Pakistani militant group had close links with Hefajat leader Mamunul Haque, police alleged today.

Mamunul and his brother-in-law Mufti Niamatullah made the connection during their visit to Pakistan in 2005, Harun-Or Rashid, deputy commissioner of Tejgaon Division police, said to reporters at his office today. 

The duo stayed for around 45 days in Pakistan at the time and also collected a political manifesto which Mamunul later tried to apply to develop Hefajat.

DC Harun said they came to know about these after interrogating Mamunul, who is now on a seven-day remand in a case filed with Mohammadpur police station.

He said that they have recovered Mamunul's cell phone and found evidence of huge transactions.

"Mamunul was collecting money from Pakistan, Dubai and Qatar in the name of Babri Mosque of India. Mamunul later used the money in different mosques and madrasas of the country to train students," said the DC.

He, however, did not disclose the amount of the transactions.

Earlier on April 17, Mamunul was arrested from a madrasa in Mohammadpur and was placed on a seven-day remand the next day.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal today said that different militant outfits are now trying to create anarchy in the country again under the banner of Hefajat.

In reply to a reporter during a programme in the capital, he said those who are involved in violence will have to face punishment for the crime, no matter how much they compromise.

He said that said the Hefajat is a non-political group, but their sudden political programmes were a cause for suspicion.

 "In the name of strikes, those who have burnt down police stations, the AC land office, Ustad Alauddin Khan Museum, will be brought under the law after analysing video footage," he said, adding at the same time, those who aided and abetted the violence will also be arrested.