All the three rooms of teachers’ dormitory of the militant den, which was unearthed in Bhola on Tuesday, were mainly used for storing arms and ammunition.
Besides, hidden stores were also found inside the rooms of teachers.
Sources in the local law enforcement agency told The Daily Star that most of the recovered arms and ammunition were made inside the centre and militant members were also trained up there.
A notebook was found inside the teachers’ dormitory while The Daily Star correspondents were visiting the spot yesterday. The notebook reads name of a BDR soldier of 18 battalion in Rangamati district and the soldier, M Akhter Hossain, had spent a night on May 3, 2007, while the construction of the centre was going on.
Locals said construction work of the building began in 2007 and the orphanage-cum-Madrasa was opened earlier this year.
The Daily Star correspondents talked with the people of Sasra Union about the activities of the orphanage-cum-madrasa but locals failed to provide any information.
“General people were not allowed to enter the area and they only knew that orphans were taught here,” said Lt Col Mamunur Rashid who led the operation on Tuesday.
Locals said they could not enter the centre as it is circled by a trench-like canal and the only way was a hanging bridge. During nighttime, militants connected electric line with canal water so that no one could enter the center.
They added that they sometimes heard the sound of gunshots and vehicles entering the centre at midnight.
During interrogation, four arrestees admitted that real militant came to the centre sometimes at midnight by vehicles and left at midnight too. They also admitted that militants gave them training in the name of running the orphanage.
The ten-acre militant training centre has mainly a student learning centre and a teachers’ dormitory. The centre also contains two ponds, one playground, three to four flower gardens and a hanging bridge, which is the only way to get in and out.
Local and law enforcers said there is no other well-decorated modern structure like the madrasa in the coastal district.
The floors of all the nine rooms of student learning centre are covered with tiles. There are well-decorated blackboards in the rooms and such blackboards are not available in normal school and college or other education institution.
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