Police also produced Nuruddin Haider, the landlord and founder of the madrasa -- Al-Jamiatul Islamia Nurul Ulum -- before the court with seven-day remand prayer under an extortion case, filed on July 28 by an employee of a private TV channel.

The arrested Afghan war veteran Moulana Mufti Abdur Rouf had been running the militant camp at a madrasa in Jibontola village under Bhaluka upazila for years under the nose of law enforcers and administration although police seized huge books and other documents on jihad from the den in 2003.

Rab claimed to have arrested 25 militants including Mufti Abdur Rouf during training at Jamia Islamia Nurul Ulum Madrasa at Jibontola village and recovered bomb-making materials and militancy-related equipment at 3:00pm on Wednesday.

Later, Rab-9 arrested Abu Huriara and Shafiq at Seed Store Bazar at Bhaluka at 8:30pm.

The two are the students of the same madrasa and had fled from the spot during the raid, Rab said.

Sub-Inspector (SI) Rabiul Islam of Bhaluka Police Station yesterday produced the arrested militants before the court of First Class Magistrate Rukshana Tarannum.

Receiving the arrestees from Rab office, where the militants had been undergoing interrogation since their arrest, SI Rabiul sought remand for seven people out of the 27.

He prayed for 10-day remand of seven JMB militants -- Abdur Rouf, suicide squad members Saiful Islam and Kamruzzaman Kamal, Ehsar (full-time) members Tofazzal Hossain and Mahmudul Hassan, and activists Huraira and Shafiq.

The court granted 10-day remand for the fist five, seven-day for the last two, and sent the rest 20 to jail. The same court sent Nuruddin to five-day remand.

Asked why no specific allegations were brought against the militants, the Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mizanur Rahman of Bhaluka Police Station said police will collect more information from them before bringing any specific charge.

Asked what if the High Court (HC) gave any directive not to bring the arrestees under Section 54 in remand, the OC said, "It [HC] only cautioned the law enforcers to be careful, nothing more."

On why only seven out of the 20 were brought for quizzing, he said, "We have acted following the orders of the high-ups only."

A number of militants earlier got release as they were produced before court under Section 54.

JIBONTOLA MADRASA
During a visit yesterday, this correspondent found no one at the madrasa situated on a 5.5-acre land some 10 kilometres off Bhaluka upazila headquarters.

All of the 12 teachers and the students have either gone home or fled during the Rab operation, villagers said.

A large part of Jibontola village is covered with jungle. One has to walk three kilometres along a dirt road to get to the madrasa.

The mud-built madrasa houses a namaz ghar (prayer room), three classrooms, a dormitory for teachers and students, and an office room.

"People of the madrasa scared us off whenever we went close to it to know what was going on there," Rabeya Khatun, who lives nearby, told The Daily Star.

Dulal Bepari, a cattle trader, said he had often seen people doing different physical exercises every time he went past the madrasa in the morning and afternoon.

There is a solar cell at the madrasa where the teachers and students are learnt to have various technical expertise. Besides, they used to grow crops, vegetables, and grapes and rear fish.

Anisur Rahman, who studied at the madrasa from 1998 to 2000, told The Daily Star that they had to undergo physical training in addition to their regular academic curriculum.

Once the madrasa authorities had gone on a drive to collect students from the locality, but the parents preferred other madrasas and schools as the children were subject to severe torture there.

"The students would usually come from other districts," said Zobeda Khatun, a villager.

Meanwhile, it has been learnt from an abandoned diary that the students were brainwashed into believing in jihad.

ABDUR ROUF
Nuruddin Haider, a local landlord and founder of the madrasa, said Rouf, known as Peer Shahib to them, used to stay in the village irregularly since he started teaching there in 1998.

Yasin, Another former student who had left the madrasa long ago, said there used to be no physical exercises then, as the militant leader had not yet joined the madrasa. Rouf, now the director, might have introduced the military training, he added.

He [Rouf] had once announced that he would exact harsh revenge on the villagers if any of the madrasa students faced any trouble, said a local named Billal.

MADRASA FUNDS
Although the madrasa had its own farming and fish farm, the villagers had to give them fruits, mostly jackfruits, from each of the trees they own. "The madrasa people would sell those in nearby bazars for funds," said Dulal.

LAND DISPUTE
Relatives of Nuruddin, meanwhile, have alleged that the founder of madrasa was arrested for a land dispute with ntv Managing Director Enayetur Rahman.

The villagers also told the visiting reporters yesterday that the raid by Rab and police could have been a result of the feud.

Nuruddin's son Rafiq said a case has been pending with the court over the land almost for a year.

His father along with the madrasa students had put up a signboard on the land and planted trees to establish their possession. But the local police knocked down the signboard and arrested one of Nuruddin's men a week back.

"Enayetur's men have lodged a false extortion case against my sons who are now on the run from police," said Nuruddin's wife Rabeya Khatun, "The arrest of my husband too was made in connection with the case."

"When we contacted Enayetur Rahman, he threatened us to oust from the area and dismantle the madrasa by Rab," Rafiq said yesterday over phone.

Enayetur however denied the allegation last night and said he had never talked to Rafique. He said he bought the land to spend his leisure time there. But Nuruddin and his sons had been saying that they have claim on the land and demanding toll from his men.

He said, "I had told them that if they were to lay claim to the land they must produce the necessary legal documents but they never turned up."