A union parishad (UP) chairman in Rajbari and one of his associates were also arrested on Thursday night.

Moreover, law enforcers arrested 1,555 people on various charges across the country in the 24 hours preceding 6:00am yesterday.

Our staff correspondent reported from Khulna that Abul was picked up from a restaurant in the city while he was having his breakfast and was taken to the joint forces' camp for questioning about some allegations against him. He was released around noon, sources in the joint forces said.

The sources also said Abul was quizzed about an allegation that he used to collect illegal tolls from Haji Rayezuddin wholesale kitchen market in the city. He happens to be an adviser to the traders of the market.

He is also an uncle of Asaduzzaman Litu, the prime accused in a case in connection with the killing of Jessore Janakantha reporter Shamsur Rahman.

Litu was killed in crossfire involving Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in Khulna city in 2005.

UNB reported that Humayun Kabir, president of the wholesale kitchen market, said the joint forces sought cooperation from Abul in preventing price hikes of essential commodities in the market.

Meanwhile, UNB from Rajbari reported that Mrigi union parisad chairman and a BNP leader Abdul Jalil Mandal and his associate Mohiuddin Manik were also arrested from the chairman's house in Pangsha upazila on Thursday night.

Police said they were arrested in connection with a case filed by UP member Abdul Majid on Thursday accusing them of misappropriating 17 metric tons of rice which were meant for relief. They were sent to jail after being produced before a magistrate court.