Photo : Collected
The army, police, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) will launch the operation today (5 April), RAB officials said in a press briefing at around 11:00am in the District Council auditorium.
The operation will continue till the KNF are eliminated in the district, Khandker Al Moin, director of the Legal and Media Wing of RAB, said at the briefing.
"The operation will include all kinds of tactics followed in anti-terrorist operations in the hills," he said.
He said there are two possible motives of the criminals behind the armed bank robberies and looting in the past few days in Bandarban. First, looting money and confiscating weapons. Second, demonstrate competence.
"The KNF wants to show its supporters and rival armed groups that they are a powerful armed group. They were given a chance to return to normal life.
For this purpose, a peace establishment committee was working under the leadership of the zilla parishad chairman. But the KNF terrorists recklessly carried out various criminal activities including bank robbery, kidnapping, looting weapons, and firing at police camps," he said.
On the day, the RAB also handed over Nizam Uddin, Sonali Bank's Ruma branch manager who was kidnapped on Tuesday by KNF, to his family. The manager was released by the armed group after their demand for a Tk15 lakh ransom was met.
Mizanur Rahman, Nizam's brother, said RAB handed him over to the family after its briefing at 11:15am today (5 April) in Bandarban RAB Camp.
On Tuesday (2 April) night armed robbers attacked the Ruma branch of Sonali Bank. Nizam Uddin was kidnapped on the same night. Within 16 hours of the first robbery, the Thanchi branches of Sonali Bank and Krishi Bank were attacked. The robbers looted around Tk17.5 lakh from the banks.
On Thursday, Nizam Uddin was handed over to his family members at around 7:30pm. Later, RAB took him into their custody.
An hour after Nizam was released, armed robbers again attempted to rob the Thanchi branch of Sonali Bank but were stopped by the police and BGB. The robbers were forced to retreat after a gunfight between the groups ensued for an hour.
Later at midnight, gunmen attacked a joint army-police checkpost in Alikadam in Bandarban.
Messenger/Sumon
