Police on Sunday raided the residence of outlawed militant group Hizb ut-Tahrir's Chittagong coordinator but the man had left before the swoop.
Chittagong Metropolitan Police's assistant commissioner Helal Uddin said the building in Khulshi rented out by Tahrir coordinator Sheikh Omar Shafir Al Maruf Rasel was used as the banned Islamist outfit's area office.
The operation on Sunday afternoon was initiated on the basis of information provided by Naimul Huq Tonmoy, a student of Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology, who was arrested on Saturday, he added.
"But the local coordinator Omar escaped before the raid."
Party documents was seized from the house.
The radical group was banned in October last year, while its central coordinator was detained recently in Dhaka.
Omar, son of Sheikh Akbar Ali of Chandpur Sadar, went to Chittagong last year after leaving his job as the judicial magistrate in Feni.
His resignation was accepted by the law ministry on Aug 4.
He rented the house identifying himself as a teacher of private university UITS at GEC Square. Earlier, he lived at a house on O R Nizam Road.
During the raid, the police recovered answer scripts of BGC Trust University along with many anti-government handouts, books, posters, a manifesto and the party constitution.
Helal said, "We came to know that Omar was working as the regional coordinator of Hizb ut-Tahrir from investigations. He has family connection with Tonmoy."
"Efforts are underway to arrest Omar," he added.
Khulshi police on Saturday detained Tonmoy, suspecting him of being a Tahrir member, at Sholoshahar area. He is from Sonagazi of Feni.
Tonmoy is said to have met Omar through his elder brother Nazmul Huq Munna.
Khulshi police sub-inspector Abdul Baten told bdnews24.com that they were suspecting Tonmoy of being involved with Tahrir.
Police on Sunday sought a five-day remand to question Tonmoy, but the Metropolitann Magistrate's Court granted two days, he added.
Baten said the questioning would begin on Sunday night.
Tonmoy denied his involvement with Tahrir in Khulshi police custody on Sunday afternoon.
Source: bdnews24.com
