Bangladesh Govt bans Islamic group "Hizb ut Tahrir"

AFP, Dhaka, 22 October : Bangladesh banned a controversial Muslim group Thursday for "destabilising" the country, the government said, a day after a bomb attack targeted a ruling party lawmaker related to the prime minister.
Home Minister Sahara Khatun told AFP that Hizb ut Tahrir Bangladesh has been banned for "unleashing destructive activities" and work that goes against the "laws of the land". "We took the decision after reports from our intelligence agencies. They are found (to be) destabilising the country," she said. Hizb ut Tahrir's Bangladesh coordinator and spokesman Mohiuddin Ahmed said the allegation against his organisation was "completely baseless".
Hizb ut Tahrir is a pan-Islamist group whose goal is to establish a global Islamic caliphate. They have been banned in a number of countries, mainly in Central Asia and the Middle East. The latest ban brings the number of outlawed Islamic groups in Bangladesh to five. န Photo : AFP

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Maoists free abducted Sankrail OC Atindranath Dutta
Freedom Drama In Lalgarh Forest
Jhargram, Kolkata, 22 October : After a negotiations facilitated by BBC journalists, Maoists freed abducted police officer Atindranath Dutta in West Bengal Thursday evening, almost three days after they kidnapped him, in a swap with a group of Maoist activists.
A two-day stubble on Atindra's face and a red scarf saying 'POW' around his neck, sub-inspector Atindranath Dutta stood in the glare of news crew flashbulbs in a Lalgarh village. It was 8.15 pm, 54 hours after he had been captured from Sankrail. Armed Maoists held his hands on their side. More followed behind. Among them was Kishanji, dressed in a blue shirt and camouflage trousers and holding an Insas rifle. The two-day drama that held the state on tenterhooks was finally drawing to a close.
Around noon, a West Bengal court released 14 tribal women from jails, which was one of the conditions laid down by the rebels for Dutta’s freedom. The women were jailed for their alleged links with the Maoists. State Chief Secretary Ashok Mohan Chakraborty spoke to the police officer’s father Ashok Dutta and gave him the good news. Dutta was handed over by Maoists to mediapersons and some lawyers, Chakraborty said. န Photos : AP, Reuters

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