Joint forces raid coaching center in Rajshahi, recover arms-explosives

Joint forces have raided a coaching center named 'Doctor's English' in the Kadirganj area of Rajshahi city.

Soon after the raid began on Saturday morning, the army surrounded the house and searched it for several hours.

A source conducting the raid said that various types of weapons and explosives were recovered from there. Law enforcers informed that the recovered explosives will be brought before the media after being deactivated.

The joint forces have picked up the director of the coaching center, Muntasirul Alam Anindya, 35. He had been arrested several times on charges of militant involvement earlier.

According to police, he was also arrested on 'militancy suspicion' after the Holey Artisan attack and in the murder case of Rajshahi University English Department teacher Professor AFM Rezaul Karim Siddique.

Anindya, a former student of Rajshahi University, is son of Shafiul Alam Latku, the former vice-president of the Metropolitan unit BNP. He is also the cousin of former Rajshahi Mayor AHM Khairuzzaman Liton.

No official statement has been received from the army yet on what was recovered in the operation. However, an unconfirmed source claimed that two foreign air guns, a revolver, six domestic weapons, a GPS, four walkie-talkies, a binocular and various explosive-making equipment were seized.

Meanwhile, Rajshahi Metropolitan Police spokesperson Gaziur Rahman said that he did not know any official information about the army's operation.