Three members of the banned Islamist terror group HUJI,suspected to be involved in a 2001 bomb blast in the capital,have been arrested by the elite RAB forces,an official said on Monday. Moulana Idris Ali,Moulana Abdul Latif and Sakhawat Hossain alias Dulal were arrested by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) yesterday from the heart of the capital. The three suspected Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI) members were arrested in connection with the bomb blasts that killed five people during a Communist Party of Bangladesh rally in 2001,the Star online said today. Rab claimed that the three men are HUJI operatives and were accused in the bomb blast at Paltan Maidan in Dhaka that also wounded at least 50 people. Inspector Mrinal Kanti of the Criminal Investigation Department were quoted as saying that Idris and Latif are suspects in the case. He said that Sakhawat will be interrogated further to determine whether he was also involved in the crime. According to the dailys report,based on sources,Idris was a member of HUJI and Latif was an explosives trainer of the banned militant organisation. Security forces have stepped up a campaign against terror outfits following orders from the home ministry amid fears that they could by trying to regroup. Intelligence agencies have warned that the banned Islamist outfits,including the Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB),may be trying to regroup in the country. According to analysts,JMB still remains active and dangerous despite the decimation of its ranks over the last five years.
