As Barguna Police Station Officer-in-Charge Syed Shafiqul Islam pressed the charge, police produced the arrestees before a Barguna magistrate, seeking 5-day remand for six of the accused -- Asadul Islam, Mostofa Hasan, Waliullah, Al Amin, Masum Billah and Abdur Rahman.

Waliullah is the imam of Barguna Police Line Mosque, Mostofa a madrasa teacher and the rest students of Barguna Alia Madrasa.

There were reports of interference by local BNP and Jamaat leaders in favour of the arrestees, but police denied the allegation.

Intelligence sources said Islamist zealots have been active in Barguna for the last eight years. There are also records of previous arrests of Islamist trainees during military drills.

In 1996, police held 22 such trainees with dummy rifles at Bhupati Madrasa in Keora-Bunia area. These trainees were detained in jail for some time after police filed a case. But later, police for mysterious reasons submitted a final report setting the arrestees free of all charges. They came out of prison.

Last year, four persons were arrested during another training exercise in Badurtola area under Pathoraghat upazila of the district. A case filed at the time is still awaiting trial and one of the accused, Abdul Haque Abbasi, who was out on bail, is among the 33 arrested Wednesday last.

Police said they had interrogated the 33 arrestees Wednesday night upon their arrest. When they were being taken to the court yesterday, the suspected militants however looked quite cheerful and free of tension.

Mostafa, the arrested madrasa teacher, told The Daily Star, "We are not atheists and, so, we are not worried about being arrested. Allah will save us."

Of the 33, a man named Shahidul Islam is reported to be a brother of Fariduddin Forkan, a BNP leader, and Mosharraf Hossain, Barguna correspondent of Daily Inqilab. Police did not pray for his remand, although he is known to have received military training at Hathajari Madrasa of Chittagong, when he was a student there. Forkan was present at the police station all along yesterday.

OC Islam however refuted the allegations of political influence and said the law would take its own course.

Police sources said three suspicious persons carrying powerful wireless sets came to the town by Bodnikhali ferry Wednesday morning. The sources believe they came to train the militants.

Tofajjal Hossain, imam of Khejurtala Mosque, who helped police in rounding up the militants, said the combat training used to be held from 1am to the prayers at dawn.