Police in Moulvibazar’s Barlekha upazila arrested former Bangladesh Army member Md. Rahed Hossain Mahed, 23, on Thursday, May 14, during a special operation targeting members of the banned extremist group Maktabah Al Himmah Ad-Da’watul Islamiyah. The arrest took place in the remote Bobarthol Saitghari area, where police detained him from a hill after a 12-hour operation. Later that night, Mahed was handed over to the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit.

According to police, Mahed, son of Nur Mia from Dashghar village in Sylhet’s Bishwanath upazila, had been dismissed from the army and is accused in an anti-terrorism case filed at Shahbagh Police Station, which is under CTTC investigation. Intelligence sources reported that he maintained contact with another arrested member of the same banned group, Ishtiaq Ahmed Sami Abu Bakkar Abu Mohammad.

Police said Mahed had been in hiding since a national red alert was issued and was attempting to cross into India illegally. Following his arrest, he provided important information during preliminary interrogation.