tahrirChittagong, Jan 20 (bdnews24.com) – Banned militant outfit Hizb-ut Tahrir tried to take out a procession against the government in the port city on Friday, a day after the army said it had foiled a coup attempt by its officer with alleged links to the group.

Police said the devotees prevented the Tahrir members from carrying out the march in front of Andarkilla Shahi Jame Mosque of the city after Juma prayers.

Earlier in the day, police arrested five Tahrir men from Uttara in Dhaka.

Chittagong Metropolitan Police 's Detective Branch assistant commissioner S M Tanvir Arafat told bdnews24.com that the Tahrir members started distributing leaflets to the faithful immediately after the prayer was over.

"The general devotees prevented them when they tried to take out a rally chanting slogans on the mosque premises. As the devotees chased them, the banned outfit's members mingled with the crowd and left the mosque premises."

Police seized a banner of the organization that demanded establishment of Khilafat (Islamic) state.

The leaflet read, "Dear army officers, remove Hasina who is the killer of your brothers and establish a Khilafat state to save yourselves and the Muslims of the country from the control of USA and India."

It urged the army officers to topple the present government from power.

The Bangladesh army at a press conference on Thursday said that it had foiled a plot by some hardline officers to topple the Sheikh Hasina government.

At the instigation by some of non-resident Bangladeshis, some serving as well as retired officers with extreme religious views had tried to create disorder in the army riding on the religious sentiments of other officers, it was said.

Some unruly and derailed military officers were actively engaged in the execution of the conspiracy through maintaining contacts with fugitive Maj Syed Mohammad Ziaul Huq by mobile phones and Internet.

Though the government banned the outfit two and half years back, the distribution of leaflet shows it is still active.

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Source : www.bdnews24.com