Acting on a tip-off that JMB organiser and regional commander of Tongi-Uttara area Abdullah al Sohail al Maruf alias Akash would stay in the toll plaza area of Ashulia bazar, some Rab-3 members in plainclothes took position there and caught him at 7:45pm.

During interrogation Akash confessed to his involvement in the August 17 bomb attack. He distributed bombs and leaflets among more than 10 JMB operatives and taught them how to detonate the bombs in Tongi and Uttara police station areas, said a Rab press release.

Later, upon his information that they had kept some explosives and other bomb-making materials near their abandoned den in Gazipura village in Tongi, the Rab team raided one Tangail mess in Gazipura and adjacent areas at 1:30am yesterday. They recovered four locally made guns, 48 detonators, one packet power gel, two packets of water gel, one packet lead nitrate, an electric switch and an electric valve during the raid.

Meantime, our Nilphamari correspondent reports that the Rab-5 members arrested district-level JMB leader Amzad Hossain at Titpara of Dimla upazila on Monday afternoon.

A high official of police in Nilphamari acknowledged the arrest although Assistant Superintendent of Police Tanvir Ahmed of Rab's Rangpur regional office told newsmen that he is unaware of the arrest of any Amzad.