BANGLADESH

Police have detained five Jamaat-e-Islami leaders from Chittagong, Chandpur, Kishoreganj, Barguna and Chuadanga districts on charges of involvement in destructive activities, including secret processions of the party and its student wing and programmes demanding release of senior leaders accused of war crimes.

The bdnews24.com Chittagong bureau of reported that the police have arrested Jan-e-Alam, Jamaat chief of Patenga area of the port city in the early hours of Monday from his residence in the area.

"Jan-e-Alam is not included in any first information report (FIR). But, he was arrested on suspicion of having ties to the Sep 19 clash between police and Jamaat activists at the port city," Panchlaish police chief Ismail Hossain said.

Jan-e-Alam has been taken to Panchlaish police station after his arrest and will be sent to court following questioning.

Meanwhile, Chandpur district Jamaat general secretary Abdur Rahim, also the principal of a Madrasah in Sadar Upazila, was detained from his residence at Madrasah Road in the district headquarters on Sunday night for questioning, bdnews24.com Chandpur correspondent reported.

Sadar police assistant sub inspector Rezaul Karim told bdnews24.com: "The detained is involved in trying to create anarchy in a bid to press for the release of war criminals. Process is ongoing to take legal steps against him."

Our Kishoreganj correspondent said that the district's Jamaat general secretary Mohammad Ramjan Ali, also the principal of the teachers training college, was arrested from his residence at Nogua area of the district headquarters by the Kishoreganj Model police. The police also raided residences of other leaders of the party but could not find them.

"Ramjan Ali was shown arrested in a case filed at Kishoreganj police station for the attack on police from a Jamaat procession on July 5 in support of a hartal," Kishoreganj police chief Mir Mosharraf Hossain said.

Police arrested seven activists of the Islamist party's student wing Chhatra Shibir in the case on Sep 20. The court permitted their release on bail on Sunday.

At Barguna, Patharghata police arrested the municipality Jamaat general secretary Bazlur Rahman on Sunday night from his residence at Iman Ali road, bdnews24.com Barguna correspondent reported.

"We raided residences of Barguna district Jamaat chief Abu Jafar Mohammad Saleh, Patharghata Upazila chief Abdul Kader, and Kathaltoli Union chief Jafar Sadeq and other upazila level leaders. But we could not find them at home," Patharghata police chief Ujjal Kumar Dey told bdnews24.com.

The Chudanga correspondent of bdnews24.com reported that Alamdanga police arrested Alamdanga Upazila former Jamaat chief Omar Faruk from his residence in Babupara area of the town while he was holding a meeting in the early hours of Monday.

Alamdanga police chief Motiar Rahman told bdnews24.com: "We raided his residence based on a tip off that Faruk was meeting with party activists to plan anarchy. His son, a member of Islamic University Chhatra Shibir was also there. He and his friends fled when they learnt of the raid."

Jamaat district chief Anowarul Haq Malik said, "Omar Faruk took responsibility as Alamdanga chief in 2004. He let go of his Jamaat membership in 2008."

On Sep 19, violent clashes took place between Jamaat-e-Islami activists and the police at Dhaka and Chittagong. The police detained three central leaders, including party's acting secretary general A T M Azharul Islam and publicity secretary Tasneem Alam, immediately after the incident. Following raids in various parts of the country have led to the arrest of hundreds of Jamaat-e-Islami activists.