Dhaka: Police Friday nightlast night conducted raids at different places in the city to arrest former Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Sayed Abdullah Mohammad Taher in connection with making "anti-state" statement.

Meanwhile, four general diaries were filed with different police stations in Dhaka and Bogra against the Jamaat leader who allegedly issued threats against the government and the state while addressing a meeting at the Jatiya Press Club Wednesday. Another general diary was filed the day before yesterday.

Senior BNP leader Moudud Ahmed was also implicated in the general diary filed by Special Public Prosecutor Lutfa Al Galib with Bogra Police Station. The BNP leader had attended the meeting.

Taher held a press conference yesterday evening at the Jamaat’s central office at Al Falah building in Moghbazar clarifying his Wednesday’s speech.

He claimed that he meant "increasing public support" by Shakti Sonchoy (power gathering) and Rajpather bairer er janogan (the people who have not taken to the streets) by "reserved forces".http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=149749

2. No ULFA’s camp in Bangladesh, Detained leader Ranjan tells interrogators: The Daily Star

The United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa) does not have any training camp or base in Bangladesh, although its operatives often cross border to take shelter here.

Members of the Indian separatist group who escaped to Bangladesh following their high command’s instruction were tasked with managing shelter for others whenever they cross border in the face of tougher situations.

Those who sustain injuries during fights with Indian forces or suffer from malaria are also given treatment in Bangladesh.

These were revealed by detained Ulfa leader Ranjan Chowdhury as he was quizzed by the Task Force for Interrogation (TFI), according to interrogators and an interrogation statement obtained by The Daily Star.

"Ranjan told us that as far as his knowledge goes, Ulfa has no training camp or base in Bangladesh now," says a law enforcer involved in the interrogation.

During his seven-day remand in TFI he made no disclosure about how many Ulfa operatives are still hiding in Bangladesh.

Ranjan and his Bangladeshi aide Pradip Marak were arrested in Bhairab in Kishoreganj on July 17 by Rapid Action Battalion with one pistol, one revolver, four handmade bombs and bomb-making materials.

The arrest of Ranjan was the second which was revealed by law enforcers. Earlier, Ulfa general secretary Anup Chetia was arrested in Mohammadpur in 1997 and is still behind bars in Bangladesh.

However, local and international media reported that a number of Ulfa top brass were arrested in Bangladesh and turned in to India since the incumbent government assumed office.

Ranjan, organising secretary of Bhubri district unit Ulfa, was responsible to provide shelter to the soldiers from 109 Ulfa battalion of Meghalaya, one of the five battalions of the group.

The Ulfa used to bear all his expenses. Besides, the organisation provided him Tk 10-12 lakh for construction of a house and another Tk 2 lakh for running a business. He was also given a motorcycle for movement.

He also made some earning through orchards and fishing at his homestead in Jhenigati in Sherpur.

The Ulfa leader, who has been living in Bangladesh since 1997, also told the interrogators that he used to provide shelter to 10 to 15 separatists when they faced a tough situation in India.

He married a Bangladeshi woman from Sherpur in 2001 in presence of Ulfa top leaders Poresh Barua and Shahadhar.

He first entered Bangladesh through Kurigram illegally in September 1997 to meet Ulfa military wing chief Poresh Barua in Dhaka.

Rab sources say Ulfa operatives under Ranjan’s leadership are active in Sherpur, Kurigram and Sylhet, the bordering districts of Assam. www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=149732

3. US praises Bangladesh’s anti-terrorism efforts

Dhaka:  The United States has lauded Bangladesh of its efforts to deny domestic and transnational terrorists safe haven and targeting opportunities in Bangladesh.

It said the government also acted on its pledge to focus serious attention on Bangladesh’s counter-terrorism needs, which resulted in the arrest of several high-profile terrorism-related figures in Bangladesh, including some from Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

In an annual Country Reports on Terrorism 2009 released in Washington DC on Thursday, the State Department said that immediately after taking office in January 2009, the Awami League-led government began a crackdown on domestic and transnational terrorist groups.

As a result, Bangladesh and India improved their counter-terrorism cooperation during the year, which led to the arrest of several senior members of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), an anti-India insurgency group. www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=25183