Woman from Rajshahi ‘militant den’ surrenders

Rajshahi: A woman from the suspected militant den at Godagari upazila in Rajshahi surrendered before the law enforcers during an operation at a house in the area on Thursday morning.
Police said the woman is called Sumaiya, daughter of a deceased, Sajjad Ali, who died in suicide blasts during the raid.
Police also said Sumaiya’s husband Juhurul is an active member of banned militant outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). Earlier, he was arrested in the char area of River Padma at Godagari and sent to jail.
Earlier in the morning, a militant couple and three more members of the family were killed in a reported suicide blasts when the law enforcers conducted an operation at a suspected militant hideout at Godagari in Rajshahi.
Police claimed the deceased are militant Sajjad Ali Mishthu, in his forties, and his wife, Beli Khatun, their son Al Amin, Ashraful Islam, and daughter Karima.
The Godagari police Officer-in-charge (OC) Hipzur Alam Munshi Sumaiya surrendered before the police at about 10:45am. Later, she was taken to police custody.
Rajshahi additional superintendent of police (ASP) Shumit Chowdhury said police asked the family to surrender before the law enforcers in the morning, but they did not respond. Later, police tried to break the mud walls by throwing water. At one stage, the family members came out of the house carrying sharp weapons and attacked on police. Fire fighter Matin was critically injured during the attack. Later, he was died undergoing treatment at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH).
The ASP said after the attack, the militants denoted suicide bomb and died on the spot.
The police officer said Sumaiya, Sajjad’s daughter, is sitting near the operation spot. The law enforcers asked her to surrender before them.
The Godagari police Officer-in-charge Hipjur Alam Munshi said based on the information of police headquarters the law enforcers cordoned off the house at the village of Benipur at Habaspur Machhimara under the Godagari upazila of Rajshahi, at about 3:00am on Thursday.
Police launched a drive on Thursday morning and later claimed death of four suspected militants, including a woman.
Police also recovered five-year-old boy Zobayer and three-month old girl Afia, who are children of Al Amin.
However, the local administration ban public gathering by imposing Section 144 in the area since at about 9:30am to avoid any untoward incident.