Vehicle with KNF garment materials seized in Ctg, 4 held

Police have arrested four people, including the director of Well Fabrics and Well Composite Knit Limited, on charges of supplying fabrics to the Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF), an armed separatist organisation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

Chandgaon police arrested them from the Kalurghat BSCIC industrial area around 9 PM on Monday.

The arrested are Tariqul Islam, director of Well Fabrics and Well Composite Knit Limited, and the company's officials Touhidul Islam, Jamalul Islam and Md. Atiqur Rahman. They are being questioned, police said.

Sources said that around 8 PM on Monday, the police seized a vehicle belonging to the factory of Well Fabrics and Well Composite Knit Limited. 

Rolling cloth used to make uniforms of the Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF), an armed separatist organisation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, was found in the vehicle. 

Following the incident, the police conducted a raid in the Kalurghat BSCIC industrial area and arrested four people, including the factory director.

It is learned that the arrested director of Well Fabrics and Well Composite Knit Limited, Tariqul Islam, is the younger brother of Abdus Salam, treasurer of Chittagong Metropolitan Awami League and former MP from Chittagong-8 constituency.

Confirming the matter, Chandgaon Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Aftab Uddin said that the raid was conducted after receiving information about the involvement of this factory in supplying fabrics for making KNF uniforms.

He also said that verification is underway to determine whether these clothes are for the Kuki Chin National Front (KNF). The arrested persons are also being interrogated.

Meanwhile, this is the fourth seizure in the last three weeks. On the night of May 27, Bayezid Bostami police seized 15,000 uniforms of the armed separatist organization Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF) of the Chittagong Hill Tracts from ‘Noor Fashion and Garments’ in the DT Road area of Pahartali police station. 

Earlier on the night of May 26, police seized 11,785 uniforms from a warehouse in the Nayahat area of Bayezid Bostami police station. 

Even earlier, on the night of May 17, detective police recovered 20,300 uniforms from Ringvo Apparels located in the Nayahat area of the same police station, which are believed to be made for the KNF.
So far, 47,085 uniforms made for the Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF), an armed separatist organisation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, have been seized from three factories in Chittagong. 

In addition, a vehicle from the Well Fabrics and Well Composite Knit Limited factory, along with rolling cloth used to make KNF uniforms, was seized on Monday night. 

However, the Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) has not issued any official statement yet.

Meanwhile, two cases have been filed so far at Bayezid Police Station and Pahartali Police Station over the seizure of uniforms of the Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF), an armed separatist organization in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

NSA