‘Mamunul is a relative of Major Dalim’
The police found evidence from seized mobile phone of the Hifazat leader that he had collected funds from Qatar, Dubai and Pakistan in the name of Babri Mosque, Harunor said.
The radical Islamist brought “huge funds from abroad through bKash and bank accounts to use for militancy and extremism in madrasas and mosques,” he said at a press briefing at his office on Sunday, reports bdnews24.com.
Mamunul’s brother-in-law Maulana Mufti Neamat Ullah had been arrested over the grenade attack, but later walked free, according to the DC of DMP.
Mamunul and Neamat had travelled to Pakistan in 2005 and contacted militant and political groups during a 45-day stay there, Harunor said.
“What we’ve got is that he (Mamunul) is directly involved with a Pakistani terrorist group. His brother-in-law Neamat acted as the go-between,” he said.
Maulana Tajuddin, who Harunor said was a close friend of Neamat, had been convicted in the Aug 21 grenade attack case.
Neamat had been in Pakistan working as a madrasa teacher for some 20 years with the help of Pakistan’s spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence or ISI, according to Harunor.
He returned home and joined Jamia Rahmania Arabiya Madrasa before marrying Mamunul’s sister.
The Hifazat leader had been trying to make the organisation like a Pakistani group, said the police officer.
“He had political ambitions. He had been thinking about grabbing power with the help of (Jamaat-e-Islami).”
“We’ve also come to know that the father of Mamunul’s ‘first wife’ and Bangabandhu’s killer Major Dalim are relatives. We are investigating that link as well.”
After Hifazat let loose violence in parts of Bangladesh during protests against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit over his government’s policy towards Muslims, the law enforcers arrested a number of leaders of the group, including Mamunul.
The police now say that the Hifazat leaders were advancing a big plan the law enforcers had no idea about.
These extremist leaders want to turn Bangladesh into a country like Pakistan or Afghanistan by establishing Hifazat as a group like Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-Labbaik, Mahbub Alam, a joint commissioner of the police’s Detective Branch, said on Saturday.
Mamunul, joint secretary general of the radical group, is known for his hate speech and aggressive sermons in religious congregations and on social media, enjoying popularity among hardliners.
Earlier this month, the man gained an unsavoury reputation after he was caught at a resort in Narayanganj’s Sonargaon with a woman who he claimed was his second wife.
His claim was later disputed by the authorities.
In November 2020, Mamunul called for the government to remove the upcoming statue of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, claiming statues were contradictory to Islam. Later, he clarified that he did not mean to disrespect Bangabandhu.
The police arrested the hardline Islamist leader on Apr 18 in a case filed with Mohammadpur Police Station in 2020 over violence.
Mamunul’s brother Maulana Mahfuzul Haque is also accused in the case. Mahfuzul was reportedly among a Hifazat delegation that met Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal after Mamunul’s arrest.
Harunor said they did not know about Mahfuzul meeting the minister.
“The investigation officers have been ordered to act against whoever is responsible for the violence,” he said.
On Sunday, two traders started two cases against Mamunul over Hifazat’s violence in Baitul Mukarram area during anti-Modi protests on Mar 26 when Bangladesh was celebrating 50 years of independence from Pakistan.
