Remand for arrested JMB men

A Dhaka court has given police two days to interrogate the seven Jamaa'tul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) members arrested on Thursday night.

The seven men of the banned Islamist outfit, including its acting chief Abdullah Al Tasnim alias Nahid, were arrested from Dhaka's Turag neighbourhood with a huge cache of explosives.

On Friday afternoon, Metropolitan Magistrate Rashed Talukdar granted police two days of remand in a terrorism case.

There were no lawyers representing them in court,

Detective Branch (DB) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police made the arrests on Thursday night from the parking area of Ashlulia Landing Station.

Apart from the current chief of the outfit, police identified other arrestees as Md Naim Ali, 28, Md Sikandar Ali alias Noki, 25, Mahmud Ibn Bashar, 23, Md Masum Billah, 26, Fuad Hasan, 18, and Ali Ahmed, 24.

DMP Deputy Commissioner Masudur Rahman said 29-year old Tasnim was leading the outfit in absence of its chief Saidur Rahman, who is currently behind bars.

Tasnim is the brother of Abdul Al Sohel, a death row convict in the Gazipur court bombing case.

Rahman said they had recovered 10 kilograms of chemicals used for manufacturing explosives, four brass idols, JMB pamphlets and books.

"We have information that they were planning a large-scale sabotage," the police spokesperson said. "The JMB members were plotting to attack important persons and establishments in the country."

They had already contacted the Middle East-based radical organisation, the Islamic State, police said.