In Rajshahi, police seized the consignment that came from Sylhet through Sundarban Courier Service three days ago with the explosives and a leaflet of the banned militant outfit JMB, reports our Staff Correspondent in Rajshahi.

The seized materials include one kilogram RDX (royal demolition explosives) white powder, 500 grams of ammonia and 500 grams of sulphur. Police said these substances are enough to manufacture several hundred powerful bombs.

Police also found a JMB leaflet headlined "Invitation for United Islamic Jihad" in the parcel. It contains the common JMB call for the government officials, judges, lawyers, common people, NGOs and other organisations to establish Islamic rule in the country.

Police arrested manager of the courier service Nazmul Hossain and two employees, Abdul Khaleq and Noor Hossain, but could not arrest the recipient.

The arrestees were handed over to Boalia Police Station and the recovered materials were sent to Dhaka following an instruction from the home ministry, sources said.

Sylhet Kotwali police also picked up three employees of the courier service yesterday to quiz them about the parcel. The detainees are Mosharraf Hossain, manager, Amzad Hossain and Imran Ahmed, both booking clerks.

Tipped off from Sylhet, Detective Branch of police in Dhaka along with Rajshahi Metropolitan Police lunched the raid around 11:30am.

The explosives were hidden under a toy rickshaw sent by Habib bin Mahbub of Education and Relief Society, Kudratullah Market in Sylhet to Raihan bin Sobhan Rahman, SCS in Rajshahi.

The consignment mentioned four phone numbers -- three mobile and one T&T land-phone -- of the sender and the recipient, but none of the numbers responded when called.

The land phone number was located at Naodapara from where militant linchpin Dr Asadullah Al Galib operated his outfit Ahle Hadith Andolan, Bangladesh.

"The seized materials are sufficient to manufacture several hundred bombs, similar to those used by the militants in the recent blasts," said RMP Commissioner Nayeem Ahmad. The explosives were hidden perfectly under the toy rickshaw, he added.

Asked why the courier service manager was arrested, he said: "The consignment has incomplete addresses. Booking a parcel with incomplete addresses is unlawful."

The parcel reached Rajshahi on October 29, but the recipient did not come to receive it. "For three days the parcel was kept carelessly at the office," said AK Azad, assistant general manager of the courier service.

"We asked the police to wait for the recipient," he said. "But they picked up three of our staff."

Police suspect someone belonging to Ahle Hadith Jubo Shangha (AHJS) was the recipient of the consignment of explosives.

RMP senior officials raided AHJS office at Naodapara after they found the land phone number of AHJS head office, written on the consignment.

The officer-in-charge of Boalia Police Station told reporters the AHJS had surrendered the phone number a few months ago. "We are investigating the matter," he said.

The AHJS is the youth wing of Dr Galib's Ahle Hadith Andolan, Bangladesh, which is believed to be involved in militant activities in the country.

THE LEAFLET
In the leaflet found in the consignment, the JMB advised all people, government and non-government officials to lead their life according to the teachings of Islam. It asked the local and foreign NGOs, banks and insurance companies to stop anti-sharia activities.

"If foreign NGOs, banks, and all other foreign financial institutes do not stop anti-sharia activities and foreign nationals of the institutions do not leave the country within 15 days, they will have to pay the price," says the leaflet.

All bureaucrats, judges and all other government officials of the country were asked in the leaflet to help "establish the rule of Allah in the country."

"Stay away from harassing the soldiers of Allah (militants), otherwise stern action will be taken against the people concerned," says the leaflet.

The JMB also thanked the Islamic scholars and Muslims who are facing harassment, saying all members of JMB are in a jihad as soldiers of Allah.

BOMB RECOVERED IN CHT
Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) recovered six live bombs and a huge amount of bomb-making materials in Bandarban and Cox's Bazar on Tuesday night, according to reports from our correspondents in Chittagong and Bandarban.

Rab sources said they recovered three large size bombs, one pot bomb, two patrol bombs, electric cables, three lighter-gas pots, one scissors, one pliers, two pencil batteries, one 1.5-volt large battery, 13 empty cans, 100 grams of brown powder, 100 grams of sulphur, 100 grams of potash and 300 grams of potash alum.

Each of the seized bombs weighs 1.5 kg to 5 kg. At least 10 to 12 bombs could be made by the recovered bomb making-materials, Rab officials said. Each bomb has additional electric cable connections that make those detonable by a remote control device.

Intelligence sources in Chittagong believe these bombs were part of 50 such bombs manufactured jointly by tribal criminals and Rohingya insurgents, and brought to carry out subversive activities in the country ahead of the Eid and the Saarc summit.

They also found a two-page letter written in tribal language. According to the letter, 50 powerful bombs have been manufactured as part of the plan and the gangs were paid Tk 1 lakh for manufacturing the bombs, sources said.

The Rab officials in Chittagong yesterday sent urgent message to the higher authorities about the probable danger the remaining 44 bombs may cause.

"Twelve people were assigned to supervise the manufacturing of the bombs. Of them, four are Rohingya rebels in Myanmar and the rest tribal criminals from Bandarban. They were supposed to take the bombs to Khagrachhari and then to different parts of the country," Rab sources said quoting the letter.

A six-member team of Rab-7 led by Lt Shamim raided in the remote hilly regions of Lama upazila in Bandarban and Chakoria in Cox's Bazar in the early hours yesterday and made the seizure in an abandoned state.

Sensing the presence of the Rab members, the criminals fled the scene.

The Rab officials traced the identity of the 12 people mentioned in the letter but refused to disclose their names for the sake of further investigation.

"We suspect these bombs are manufactured to carry a massive act of sabotage in the country," Lt Col Hasinur Rahman, chief of Rab, Chittagong, told journalists.

He said the explosives unit of Bangladesh Army was asked to examine the bombs, and the decision to defuse those will be taken today.