Tangail: Reiterating that there is no existence of IS in the country, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan here on Thursday admitted there are some homegrown militants who are now under control.

‘There’s no existence of IS in the country. However, there’re homegrown militants. They can’t raise their heads due to our law enforcement and intelligence agencies’ constant watch,’ UNB quoted him as saying.

The minister was talking to reporters before attending a programme marking the inauguration of the buildings of Fire Service and police station of Nagpur in the morning.

Asaduzzaman, however, could not exactly say how many militants are active in the country. ‘Those who are involved in militancy are now under control,’ he said.

About the arrest of Shafik Rehman, he said the senior journalist was arrested on specific allegations. ‘He had been there where the plot to abduct and kill Joy was made. He himself also admitted that.’

About cyber crime, the minister said a new unit has been formed and trained officers were appointed to it to combat the crime.

Later, he attended a rally on the upazila parishad ground. State Minister for Posts and Telecommunications Tarana Halim, lawmakers Khandaker Abdul Baten and Monowara Begum, and deputy commissioner of Tangail Mahbub Hossain also spoke at the rally.