Immigration police at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport have arrested Ishrat Jahan Pallabi, general secretary of the activities banned Jubo Mahila League’s Nilphamari district branch.
She was taken into custody on Tuesday morning after reaching Dhaka from Guangzhou, China, on Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight BG-376.
Pallabi had travelled to Thailand to meet high-ranking leaders of the activities banned Awami League. An examination of her mobile phone and other digital devices revealed records of communication with multiple officials of the Indian High Commission as well as various tiers of Awami League leaders currently residing in India. Allegations suggest she was involved in formulating various plans through these contacts, relevant sources said citing information obtained during preliminary interrogation.
A group of police officers facilitated her exit from the country. While her name had been on an official immigration “stop list,” allegations suggest it was scrubbed with the direct cooperation of several Special Branch (SB) officials, according to specialised intelligence reports.
Relevant sources further claim that through the same mechanism, several other leaders and activists of the banned organisation have also managed to get their names removed from the immigration stop list.
