With Bangla Bhai, operations commander of Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), going underground, the operatives of the banned Purbo Banglar Communist Party have become more active and prepare to attack nine police stations and as many police camps in Naogaon, Rajshahi, Bogra and Natore, police said.

Police said authorities put on red alert Atrai and Raninagar police stations in Naogaon, Bagmara, Durgapur and Puthia in Rajshahi, Adamdighi and Nandigram in Bogra and Naldanga and Singra in Natore.

The authorities also directed police stations and camps to beef up security with additional deployment of police.

"We have information that the outlaws, now much more active, have gathered sophisticated firearms, including AK-47 rifles, to attack the police stations and camps," a top Naogaon police officer said.

Naogaon Superintendent of Police Fazlur Rahman told The Daily Star that he got information about the outlaws marking the police stations for attacks.

Police received the order on Monday to arrest the dreaded lynchpin of Islamic militant outfit JMJB, blamed for killing at least eight outlaws in vigilante action in the northwest since April 1.

"But we could not trace him (Bangla Bhai) after we received the order," a police officer said, asking not to be named.

Another police officer said he had information that Bangla Bhai holed up in Naogaon. Asked why he was not arrested, the officer said: "We are not launching any hard-line operation to arrest Bangla Bhai for now as it will be tough for us to control sarbaharas (outlaws)."

CONFLICT AND HIT LIST

A conflict between a state minister and his brother over the JMJB vigilante action hit a new high.

The state minister wants the JMJB to continue its action to fight outlaws, but his brother wants him to mount pressure on police to arrest Bangla Bhai as the JMJB last week included him and his assistants on a hit list of seven.

The JMJB listed the minister's brother, a former legislator and five others including four Naogaon union parishad chairmen -- Goutam, Janbox, Shahidul and Abdul Hakim -- for punishment for their alleged links to outlaws.

JMJB men based the list on confession from underground operative Badshah, whom they bludgeoned to death on Thursday, that the seven directed him to kill up 50 people in the region.

The JMJB attacked the houses of Janbox and alleged outlaw operative Dulal and demonstrated in Atrai and Raninagar yesterday.

Khejur picked up and beaten up by the JMJB men in Atrai on Wednesday for outlaw links is still missing. But locals say the JMJB men secreted his body 20 feet underground after killing him.

Police on Saturday rescued Bashar, another outlaw whom the JMJB beat the same day and left on the road presuming him dead. Bashar is now in jail.