Death threat to PM: Two Jubo Dal leaders brought back to Dhaka after arrest in Saudi Arabia

The Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police has brought two Jubo Dal leaders back to Dhaka after the suspects were detained in Saudi Arabia for allegedly threatening to kill Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in an email.

The suspects are Kabir Hossain and Din Islam Badal, residents of Barishal’s Mehendiganj and Cumilla’s Chauddagram upazilas respectively. Kabir is the president of a Judo Dal branch in Saudi Arabia while Badal is the leader of the BNP’s youth wing there.

Kabir and Badal had been living in Saudi Arabia for about 17 years. They had jobs and were involved in a business. They have not travelled back and forth to Bangladesh for a long time, according to CTTC chief Md Asaduzzaman.

When contacted by Bangladesh police through Interpol, Saudi police detained the two and sent them back to Dhaka on Jan 29. The CTTC unit arrested them at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on the same day, he added.

Badal sent the email threatening to kill the prime minister according to a plan made by Kabir, police said, citing information found in the interrogation of the duo. The CTTC unit is investigating whether anyone else is involved in the incident.

DMP’s Media and Public Relations Division received the email sent by Badal on April 17 last year, the CTTC chief said at a media briefing in Dhaka on Sunday.

“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will be gunned down around 4 am on April 27. Bangladesh police cannot resist the attack,” the email read.

“The issue was immediately discussed with the higher authorities regarding the seriousness of the threat and national security. The Cyber Crime Division of CTTC has been instructed to quickly identify the criminal and bring him to book,” Asaduzzaman said.

“A skilled CTTC team was able to identify the sender of the email as Din Islam Badal. The location of the person was identified as Saudi Arabia after reviewing internet activity. A case was then started over the incident on April 20 last year.”

Police Headquarters contacted Saudi authorities through Interpol and diplomatic channels to send the accused and his accomplices back to Bangladesh. The two have been taken into police custody following their transfer to Dhaka, Asaduzzaman said.

"A phone with the recovery number of the email with the death threat sent to the PM was seized from Badal.”

The law enforcers found a large amount of 'seditious content’ on their social media accounts, the CTTC chief added.