Altaf's aide, BCL central leader held
1623 arrested, 30 firearms seized in countrywide raids
Staff Correspondent
The joint forces arrested the personal assistant to former commerce minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury in Patuakhali, a pro-Awami League Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) central committee member in Chuadanga, and seized four firearms busting a college at Jatrabari in the capital in the last 24 hours, ending at 6:00pm yesterday. Members of the army, police and Rab yesterday also arrested 1,623 people on various charges and seized 30 firearms. Of the arrestees, 150 were held by the army, while the rest by police and Rab. Army personnel seized 10 firearms and police and Rab seized the remaining 20, said a home ministry official. Police said the joint forces yesterday raided the house of Altaf's personal assistant Hasibul Gani Monir Khandaker at Kathaltoli in Mirzaganj upazila and arrested him, our Patuakhali correspondent reported. Besides, the joint forces detained 14 others in different upazilas of the district as part of the ongoing drive. Rapid Action Battalion (Rab)-2 members raided RK Chowdhury Degree College at Sayedabad in the capital late Thursday night following a secret information and seized four firearms --one revolver, one self loading rifle (SLR) and two 303 rifles. They also seized three bullets from the spot. The Rab men arrested four people--Mohammad Monsur, Mizanur Rahman alias Ripon, Liton Kazi and Mizanur Rahman --on charges of possessing the firearms. Our Kushtia correspondent adds: Army men arrested Fazlul Haq Fazlu, brother of Dharmapur BNP general secretary Rafiqul Islam at his house yesterday noon and recovered two firearms and 19 bullets from there. On Thursday night, the joint forces arrested BCL central committee member Tanzir Ahmed Rony and Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal Darshana Degree College unit general secretary Selim Mahfuz.
| 
