By DPA,
Dhaka : Security forces arrested the chief of a British charity Monday for suspected terrorism financing under the guise of operating religious schools in southern Bangladesh, officials said.
Faisal Mustafa, the head of Green Crescent charity, was arrested in central Gazipur district in a pre-dawn police raid, senior officer Rezanur Rahman told a press conference.
Faisal operates a religious school in Bhola district, from where the forces seized a cache of arms and munitions late last month, with support from the London-based charity.
“We captured Faisal based on confession statements of one of the suspected militants detained earlier from the madrassa (religious school) in Bhola,” Rezanur said.
He said troops also arrested Saifuddin Badaa, the second in command of the school, for alleged involvement in terrorism.
The formal announcement of Faisal’s arrest came 11 days after his family claimed that the chief of London-based Green Crescent charity was picked up by the police March 25, one day after the arms cache was seized at the religious school.
Four suspected militants were arrested from the institution at that time, police said.
The government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed earlier accused some non-governmental organisations of funding militancy in Bangladesh.