In a significant breakthrough, Bangladeshi security forces arrested Rohingya militant leader Ataullah alias Abu Ammar Jununi late on Monday, March 17, along with nine other members of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA). The arrest comes in the wake of recent turmoil and violence gripping Bangladesh following the August 5 ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
According to sources in Dhaka, Bangladeshi police confirmed the arrest of the 48-year-old ARSA leader, who played a key role in the 2017 attacks on Myanmar’s armed forces. These attacks triggered a military crackdown that resulted in the massacre of hundreds of Rohingyas. More recently, however, Ataullah and ARSA have been collaborating with Myanmar’s military junta against the Arakan Army (AA), using the porous borders of northern Rakhine’s Maungdaw town to their advantage.
The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) carried out the arrests, preventing what was believed to be a major subversive operation planned by ARSA. Several meetings had reportedly been held by ARSA members at various locations across Bangladesh. The arrests took place during separate raids in Siddhirganj, Narayanganj, and Mymensingh.
According to the Prothom Alo, the ten suspects were presented before the Court of Judicial Magistrate Md. Moin Uddin Qadir in Narayanganj on March 18. Of them, six were placed on a 10-day remand in two separate cases, with the court granting five days in each case. The remaining four, comprising women and minors, were not subjected to a remand petition.
Quoting sources from Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar and law enforcement agencies, the Prothom Alo reported that Ataullah was identified in court testimonies as the mastermind behind the assassination of prominent Rohingya leader Muhib Ullah. Four individuals previously arrested in connection with the murder corroborated these allegations. Ataullah was also named in the charge sheet for the killing of Squadron Leader Rizwan Rushdi, an officer of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), who was killed during a joint anti-narcotics operation at the Tumbru border in Naikhongchhari, Bandarban.
Apart from Ataullah other arrested members of ARSA were Mostaq Ahmed (66) and Salimullah (27) from Myanmar’s Rakhine State, Moniruzzaman (24), son of Atiqul Islam from Char Algi in Ishwarganj, Mymensingh, Asmat Ullah (40), and Md. Hasan (43). Additionally, police arrested ARSA leader Salimullah’s wife, Asmaul Hosna (23), a 15-year-old boy from Rakhine State, Mosammat Shahina (22), and a 17-year-old girl. Moniruzzaman was residing in a rented house in Siddhirganj’s Bhumi Palli area, while Salimullah, Mosammat Shahina, and the 17-year-old girl were staying in Camp-4 of the Rohingya refugee settlement in Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar.
Following the arrests, RAB filed two cases under the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Illegal Immigration Act. During an operation, authorities seized BDT 2,139,100 in cash, a knife, a sharp steel chain, and four wristwatches. The Prothom Alo quoted public prosecutor Khorshed Alam Molla as stating that the suspects, had entered Bangladesh illegally without passports or visas and were allegedly conspiring to tarnish the country’s image and destabilise the state by deploying informants. According to case reports, ARSA members gathered on the night of March 16 in Siddhirganj’s Bhumi Palli and Mymensingh’s New Bazar Mor to plan subversive activities.
