The law enforcers, particularly the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), yesterday continued their hunt for the two fleeing leaders of the banned Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB)-- Khaled Saifullah and Salahuddin.

As part of the ongoing drive against the militants, police and detectives carried out a massive overnight raid on the Housing Estate in Comilla town yesterday. But it failed to arrest any member of the militant outfit or recover any explosives or firearms.

During the five-hour raid in the early hours, the law enforcers picked up 33 people for quizzing.

Meanwhile, interrogators continued quizzing the detained militant top brass including JMB supremo Abdur Rahman and his second-in-command Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai at the Taskforce for Interrogation (TFI) office.

"Our interrogation is currently focused on potential stocks of explosives and whereabouts of the Shura members who are yet to be arrested," MA Aziz Sarkar, director general of Rab, told The Daily Star yesterday.

BDR ALERT
Sources in the BDR Headquarters in Dhaka said forces along the border have been directed to stay alert so that Khaled Saifullah and Salahuddin cannot cross the frontier.

"We have dispatched photographs, portraits and profiles of the absconding JMB leaders to all border outposts and camps," said a top BDR official. He said they have told the BDR personnel that if anyone of them could capture any of the two heavyweight JMB leaders, he will be rewarded a bounty of Tk 10 lakh.

The official said that the instructions were given following recent orders from the home ministry.

Our Satkhira correspondent adds: Second-in-Command of 41 Rifles Battalion Major Asad said on directives of the higher authorities profiles and photographs of the two top JMB men were sent to all the outposts along the border.

“Suspected persons and vehicles are also being checked,” he added.

COMILLA SEARCH
Over 250 uniformed and plainclothes policemen conducted the house-to-house search after closing off the town's Housing Estate area at about 2:00am yesterday.

The raid was launched, acting on information provided by three militants including Comilla district JMB commander Rangila alias Sohel during police interrogation.

"We conducted the raid on the basis of some specific information, but we did not find any militant or explosives," Aurangjeb, superintendent of police in Comilla who led the operation, told The Daily Star yesterday.

Earlier on March 13, JMB bomb expert Shakil alias Mollah Omar died in Rab fire and three of his family members were killed in bomb explosions during a raid in Comilla town.

The elite crime busters also arrested JMB supremo Abdur Rahman's son Nabil Rahman, JMB cadre Alamgir alias Bijoy alias Shaikat, commander of Comilla district JMB Rangila alias Sohel and Ehsar [full-time activist] Abdus Samad Mintu.

Our Nilphamari correspondent reports: A Panchagarh court on Wednesday sentenced four JMB members to 20 years rigorous imprisonment and fined Tk 20 thousand each. In default, they will spend one more year in prison.

Saidul Islam alias Shakhawat, 25, Hamidul Islam 20, Zahurul Haque, 21 and Mohammad Firoj were convicted in a case filed under explosives act.

Police arrested them at a rented house on the outskirts of Panchagarh town with JMB documents and bomb-making materials on May15, 2003.

Of them, Saidul Islam is behind bars while the rest are on the run since they got out on bail about two years ago.