DMP's CTTC denies India’s claim ISIS India head was hiding in Bangladesh before arrest

Bangladesh's counter-terrorism unit has denied the Indian law enforcers' claims of ISIS India Chief hiding in Bangladesh before his recent arrest.

"The statement published by some Indian media that says they [the ISIS members] were arrested while crossing the Bangladeshi border or staying at a Bangladeshi hideout before getting arrested in Assam is untrue," said Md Asaduzzaman, chief of the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) on Monday.

Saying there is no such militant-friendly environment in Bangladesh, the CTTC chief said, "They did not have a hideout or any earlier presence in Bangladesh.

"If they [Indian law enforcers] have any substantial evidence supporting the ISIS Indian chief's presence in Bangladesh, they can share it with us, and we will investigate the matter. But we can clearly say that there was no such hideout in Bangladesh."

Asaduzzaman said, "ISIS carried out several operations in countries like Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Iran in the last few months.

"In Bangladesh, there was no presence of ISIS earlier. Even though the militant outfit has operated in some other parts of Asia, we are still safe." 

Head of ISIS India Haris Farooqi alias Harish Ajmal Farukhi and one of his key associates, Rehan, were arrested in Assam's Dhubri district on 20 March, as per a report by Times of India.

Quoting Pranab Jyoti Goswami, the chief public relations officer of Assam police, several Indian media reported the militants were arrested after they "crossed over from Bangladesh.