Dhaka – Terming the statement of a Singapore-based security ‘expert’, Professor Rohan Gunaratna regarding the Islamic State’s(IS) link in the Holey Artisan attack, baseless propaganda, Inspector General of Police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Haque again claimed that there is no presence of the global terror outfit in Bangladesh.Calling the local terrorists IS operatives is a totally baseless propaganda, the boss of police opined.
He made the reaction while addressing a press briefing at a three-day long Chief of Police Conference in a city hotel jointly organized by Bangladesh Police and Interpol.
Talking about militancy in Bangladesh, Gunaratna on Sunday said, the Holey Artisan attackers were members of the IS.
When The Independent exclusively asked Gunaratna about the basis of his claim, he, however, could not specifically answer only without referring to the claim of so-called IS mouthpiece Amaq news agency.
Replying to the question of the reporters, the police chief said, the attackers or their family members never claimed that they were members of the IS. Moreover, we know better who were involved in the attack as we are doing investigation of the attack.
“Rohan is neither a police officer nor an army officer. He doesn’t work on security issues at field level. He is a university researcher. He doesn’t even know the context of this country,” the IGP said.
He also said, we don’t endorse the claim of Rohan regarding the IS link in Holey Artisan attack.
So many militants were arrested, but during the interrogation, none of them told us that they are IS members, he continued.
He said the home-grown militants might have connections with the IS outfit on the virtual world.
But we have never obtained any evidence of home-grown militants taking military training from the IS by visiting the IS-dominated regions like Syria and Iraq. – Staff Reporter
