Contradictory information is found following news that Rizwan Haroon, co-founder of an English medium school in the capital, is a “top militant” and he “sneaked into” the country from the UK.
Citing intelligence sources, several media outlets yesterday reported that Rizwan is a militant leader listed by the home ministry and he entered the country through Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Thursday.
The Daily Star got the same information from a source in an intelligence agency on Saturday but did not run the news as it could not be verified independently.
Contacted on Saturday night, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said they heard the news and were looking into it.
However, sources in the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police yesterday said Rizwan was not wanted in any of its cases.
The CTTC sources also questioned if Rizwan is a top militant, how he went abroad months back.
According to the intelligence source, Rezwan left for the UK on January 27.
Rizwan is a co-founder and the managing director of Lakehead Grammar School that has branches in the city’s Dhanmondi, Gulshan and Banani.
Sources in the law enforcement agencies say some founders and teachers of the school had involvement in militancy.
On January 23, the education ministry sent a letter to the home ministry requesting an investigation into Lakehead’s alleged terror link.
It also urged the home ministry to take steps to bring Rizwan to book. This newspaper obtained a copy of the letter.
Getting no response, the education ministry again wrote to the home ministry on March 6 requesting the latter to conduct the investigation and send the report within seven working days.
A high official of the education ministry, talking to The Daily Star last night, said they were yet to get the report from the home ministry and they would issue another letter.
“Once we got the probe report, decision would be taken regarding the school’s operation,” said the official, requesting not to be named.
This correspondent repeatedly made calls on a cell phone number given in the official website of Lakehead. But nobody received the calls. http://www.thedailystar.net/backpage/confusion-over-return-militant-1405465
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