After years of evading capture, Ataullah Abu Ammar Jununi, the chief of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), has finally been arrested by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). ARSA, a militant group responsible for a reign of terror in the Rohingya camps, has been linked to numerous crimes, including murder, abduction, extortion, drug trafficking, and other illegal activities. While Jununi had been directing the group’s operations from Myanmar, Bangladesh’s law enforcement agencies had long been trying to capture him.
The breakthrough came late on Monday night (March 18) when a RAB-11 team apprehended Jununi along with five other ARSA operatives from Bhumipalli Tower in the Bhumipalli Residential Area of Siddhirganj, Narayanganj. Siddhirganj police station’s Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Shahinur Alam confirmed the arrests on Tuesday afternoon.
During the raid, law enforcers recovered cash amounting to TK21,39,100, a sharp knife, and a steel chain with serrated edges and handles on both sides.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Ataullah Abu Ammar Jununi (48), Mostak Ahmad (66), Solimullah (27), Asmaul Hosna, Hasan (15), and Moniruzzaman (24).
According to RAB-15 Cox’s Bazar, the detained ARSA members include high-ranking operatives such as top military commanders, financial coordinators, intelligence cell leaders, and heads of the group’s torture cells. The raid also led to the recovery of various locally and internationally sourced arms and ammunition.
Jununi’s arrest marks a major victory in Bangladesh’s ongoing crackdown on militant activities within the Rohingya camps. Authorities are now investigating the extent of ARSA’s operations in the country and any possible local networks supporting them.
By Abdur Rashid Manik
File Photo
