Bangladesh foils militant plot to kill ‘atheist’ teacher

Police arrest 1 militant, seize poisonous liquid

DHAKA, Oct 19, (AFP): Bangladesh police said Thursday they had foiled an attempt by suspected Islamic militants to murder an “atheist” school teacher in the capital, amid concerns a banned hardline outfit is reforming.

Police fired on the militants from banned group Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) whom officers had stopped by chance on Wednesday near the teacher’s home in north Dhaka, a local police chief said.

Police arrested one militant and seized two syringes full of a poisonous liquid and a pistol, while two other suspected militants fled, Atiqur Rahman told AFP.

“Our patrol team stopped the car for routine check, but the three men got out and opened fire at us. Officers were forced to retaliate by firing live rounds,” Rahman said.

“We thought they were a group of muggers, but during interrogation (militant) Rubel admitted they were heading to murder a teacher at a school for what they said were his atheist views,” Rahman said.

The group believed that the teacher held anti-Islamic views, had forced a colleague to shave off his beard and had converted a prayer space into a classroom, another officer said.

The JMB was blamed for a series of blasts in 2005 including a synchronised attack across the Muslimmajority nation when more than 400 small bombs were set off killing at least two people.

The JMB was also involved in a spate of bombings on judges and courts deemed un-Islamic that left at least 28 people dead in 2005.

Two of its leaders were sentenced to death for the murder of a Muslim convert to Christianity in the country’s north.

The group has been relatively quiet since an elite security force launched a nationwide crackdown on the group in 2006.