DHAKA, 1 February 2006 — Bangladesh police yesterday arrested a leading member of an outlawed group. The arrested militant is a regional commander of a group blamed for a series of bombings in the country, reliable sources said.
The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) said it arrested Abdullah Al-Sohail Al-Maruf, alias Akash, at a market in Tongi near Dhaka late Monday and found a cache of arms and explosives at his hide-out.
The RAB in a statement accused Maruf of being one of “the regional commanders of the Jamatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh and the lead organizer of the Aug. 17 blasts in major parts of the capital.”
Police have blamed the banned group for 434 synchronized blasts across Bangladesh on Aug. 17 and subsequent suicide bombings in cities and towns that have claimed the lives of 28 people, including four suicide bombers, and injured hundreds.
In the past few weeks, police say they have arrested around 800 suspected militants and filed more than 180 cases against Jamatul Mujahedeen members.
Meanwhile, authorities have ordered stricter surveillance along its border to curb increased smuggling of subsidized fuel, fertilizers and cooking oil to neighboring India and Myanmar, which has led to shortages and forced higher prices of essentials at home, the Home Ministry said yesterday.
Authorities have sealed 13 river points, while navy and coast guards have stepped up patrols along the sea border to stop smuggling of the commodities on boats and small ships.
