A top official of the Special Branch (SB) of police seeking anonymity said some important meetings preparatory to the explosions were held in Naogaon, Joypurhat, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Chittagong, Barisal, Satkhira, and Dhaka at different times between mid-April and mid-August.

The official tasked with probing the blast incident also said the decision on the blasts was finalised after Moulana Ataur Rahman, imam of a mosque in the UK and also the director of Ahle Hadith Library and Information Centre at Nagheshwari in Kurigram, came to the country on April 17. He left the country on August 20, he said.

Soon after returning home, Ataur had had meetings with Abdur Rahman, chief of banned Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), and Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai, operations commander of Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB).

The investigators have obtained the information from Noor Mohammad, Hafez Habibullah, and Shamsul Huda. The three were held in Nagheshwari upazila of Kurigram on Monday.

"We are looking into the statements. These are very vital clues," said the official, adding, "We are trying to arrest Abdul Malek, the man who looks after the Ahle Hadith's information centre at Nagheshwari in absence of Ataur. He may give us some significant leads to the investigation."

He said Kuwait-based NGO RIHS was one of the key sources of funds needed for staging the near-simultaneous explosions across the country.

Recently, the intelligence agencies have recommended banning RIHS for financing the Islamist militants in the country.

In a report prepared to suggest ways and means to root out militancy, the agencies have advised the government to close down the organisation, as it seems to be more concerned with promoting militancy than protecting Islamic heritage, observed an intelligence source.

The agencies found that the NGO, also known as Jomiatul Ehya-ut Turaj, had been accused of rearing Islamist extremists also in Pakistan and Afghanistan. It provided funds to Tawhid Trust and Hadith Foundation, both legally and illegally. Both the recipient organisations were founded by militant kingpin Asadullah Al Galib.

Intelligence men said Galib, now in jail, and his organisation Ahle Hadith Andolon Bangladesh (Ahab) had been channelling funds to JMB, blamed for the August 17 blitz.

Following statements from Noor, Habib and Shamsul, police raided Ahle Hadith Library and Information centre at Nagheswari on Wednesday and recovered six books titled "Islam ebong Attaghati Mussalman [Islam and suicidal Muslims]". But caretaker Abdul Malek managed to evade capture.

Police also raided the Nageshwari house of Abu Bakar, a Dhaka city unit leader of Islami Oikya Andolon, and recovered banners and leaflets championing Islamic movement and documents of RIHS.

Our Correspondent from Rajshahi adds: JMB leaders and activists plan to rename their outfit Jama'atul Mudar'resin (group of teachers) Bangladesh in response to the ban on the militant group.

They have also handpicked 50 people from across the country to form a suicide squad.

The organisation will soon have its women wing and 28 women educated in Qur'an and Hadith are already out across six divisions to collect members, said a source within JMB.

Some of the female trainers are known among the party members as Khadiza, Ferdousi, Aklima, Jaifun and Razifa.

A group of some 20 male teachers of madrasa who have experience in militant warfare abroad are planning to train some 200 students.

Some of the trainers will be known (during the training period) as Habibur Rahman (Sherpur), Sharifullah (Comilla), Atikul (Bogra), Saifullah and Didarul (Chittagong), Abdus Sattar and Zakir (Satkhira), Matiur (Narail), Rohidul (Jamalpur), Abdul kuddus (Cox's Bazar), Abdul Malek (Gaibandha) and Abdur Rahim (Chapainawabganj).

Our Staff correspondent from Chittagong reports: Abdus Sattar Molla and Arshadul Alam, two of the five people detained for suspected links to the serial blasts, yesterday admitted their involvement in carrying out bomb attacks in the port city on August 17.

During an interrogation by Joint Interrogation Cell (JIC) in Chittagong, Sattar Molla said he had carried the bomb that went off on Port Connecting Road, one of the city's 18 spots where the blasts took place.

Arshadul told JIC that he left Chittagong on August 15 to supervise the blasts in Comilla.

Sattar and Arshadul said they had planned the operation at meetings held at Ahle Hadith Jam-e-Mosque and Darul Hadith Salachhia Madrasa at Jhautala, sources said.

The two told the JIC team that Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai had taken the charge of the militant organisations in Chittagong some three years back. During this period, he had visited Chittagong on numerous occasions.

Intelligence agencies arrested Arshadul inside the Ahle Hadith Mosque and Madrasa on Tuesday night, following leads extracted from Sattar Molla.

Sattar, guard of the madrasa, was arrested in adjoining Sardar Bahadur Nagor area in the morning the same day. A five-member committee led by Deputy Commissioner (Port) Ali Akber Khan of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) was interrogating Arshadul, Sattar, and the other three--Sadrul Alam, Jahangir Alam, and Ahmad --at CMP Detective Branch office.

Sadrul, nephew of JMB leader Galib, is the president of Chittagong unit Ahab.

The JIC team that also has representatives from Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), National Security Intelligence (NSI), SB and other intelligence agencies could not obtain anything significant from Sadrul, Jahangir, and Ahmad as of yesterday.

Our correspondent from Khulna reports: Detective police yesterday arrested two suspected activists of Hijbullah Bangladesh in Daulatpur of Khulna.

The arrestees were identified as Mamun, 28, and Selim, 25. Both are cousins of City BNP leader Khairuzzaman Khoka who is also the commissioner ward No 10 of Khulna City Corporation.

Zahir Chowdhury, assistant commissioner of DB of Khulna Metropolitan Police (KMP), said the two have long been involved in militant activities in favour of Hijbullah Party. They are students of city's Daulatpur Day and Night College, he added.

MASUD REALEASED FROM HOSPITAL
Detained former Islamic Foundation director Moulana Fariduddin Masud was released from Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) at 3:45am yesterday.

He was admitted to the hospital on Thursday night following complaints of pain in the chest. Doctors at the DMCH found him to have developed high blood pressure. They suggested he take rest, hospital sources said.

Masud is now on an eight-day remand in a case filed with Airport Police Station for the August 17 blasts.

News agency UNB from Bagerhat reports: Four people including a superintendent of a madrasa-cum-orphanage were arrested early yesterday in Bagerhat for suspected links to the August 17 explosions.

Police said the four were arrested at their houses following a statement given by Abdullah Al Murshed, a teacher of Al Markajul Islam Al Shafi Madrasa and Orphanage. Murshed was arrested last week in connection with the explosions.

Police conducted a raid at village Dhakirkanda under Mongla Police Station in the early hours yesterday and arrested Jubair Hossain Dhali, superintendent of the madrasa, along with his two brothers, Asadullah Dhali, 14, and Yusuf Dhali, 25. The other one, Mullah Mohsin, was held in village Khankhoria under the same police station.

Earlier, police arrested 12 suspects following the cross-country blasts and of them, 10 were released after interrogation.