The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) came across a startling video clip of a woman in Burqa skating down a bustling street in urban Bangladesh, holding an ISIS flag in her hand.
A 20-second video — it acts as an evidence of the public presence of a member of the terrorist outfit in India’s neighbourhood — caused grave concern for all Indian intelligence agencies operating in both Bangladesh and India.
“This is evidence of the presence of an organisation that is designated as a terrorist outfit by the United Nations (UN) and many countries around the world, including Muslim countries. This is the aspect that has shocked us the most since the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government in August last year. It has triggered the highest level of concerns for India,” said a source in the MEA.
Indian agencies operating in Bangladesh are yet to identify the woman in burqa.
The MEA accessed the video one-and-half-month ago. From the vehicles seen in the video, a yellow colour bus was identified as a property of the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh. Dhaka.
“On the bus, we found the ULAB written which is the abbreviation of the university. Our sources in Bangladesh have confirmed it. The bus is one of the university’s fleets that transports students from Dhanmandi and Mirpur to the university campus. The woman was seen skating down the street where the bus was parked,” said an intelligence agency officer.
“After analysing the video, experts of intelligence agencies believe that the woman may be from Dhanmandi or Gulshan. Her skills indicate that she can skate through crowded streets with ease. It is uncommon to skate in a place like Bangladesh. It is thought to be a pastime of wealthy kids who live in upscale neighborhoods, including Gulshan and Dhanmandi. We believe the woman is from the same localities because the bus we have identified travels through these areas,” added the officer.
Sources in the MEA said that known for its violent ideology that calls itself a caliphate, ISIS’s presence surfaced prominently in Bangladesh in 2016 in the Holy Artisan Bakery attack, in which 20 people were killed, including one US citizen.
“The CT Special Tribunal in Dhaka sentenced seven individuals to death for their supporting roles in the attack. Besides, in 2019, ISIS claimed six attacks, five of which were directed at Bangladesh police. ISIS’s At-Tamkin media outlet released a Bangla-language propaganda video outlining its campaign against the Sheikh Hasina-led Bangladesh government and other declared enemies,” said an MEA official.
Sources in the intelligence branches also added that Islamic fundamentalists started taking the front row in Bangladesh’s affairs immediately after Hasina’s ouster.
“The video of the woman with the ISIS flag surfaced barely five months after the changes in Bangladesh politics. It shows how rapidly the terrorists are regaining their footholds in the neighboring country. This is a serious concern for India,” said an officer of the intelligence services.
PRANAB MONDAL
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