A Bangladeshi minister on Thursday defended his government against accusations it was not doing enough to trace militants linked to last month's wave of bombings, as police detained 23 more suspects.
State Minister of Home Affairs Lutfuzzaman Babar visited the northern city of Rajshahi to review the progress of a six-week-long hunt for the militants and met with local police and intelligence officials.
Police have arrested nearly 400 suspects so far over the August 17 attacks, when about 500 small bombs exploded outside key buildings across the country, killing two people and wounding about 100. Police have detained 23 suspects since Wednesday.
"We are very serious to capture the fugitives," Babar told reporters.
Opposition parties accuse minority Islamist parties in the coalition government of involvement in the bombings and shielding the ringleaders, a charge the government denies.
Babar's visit to Rajshahi coincided with a raid on the property of Bangla Bhai - the fugitive leader of a banned Islamist group who gained notoriety after leading a march of 2,000 supporters through the city last year. They were armed with iron bars and machetes.
"The movable properties of fugitive Bangla Bhai, leader of Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), were seized from his house in northern Bogra district," a senior police officer said, adding the raid took place on Wednesday.
"Tell us, if anyone knows, where he (Bangla Bhai) is and see whether the government is willing, or not, to catch him," Babar said in Rajshahi, near Bogra district.
Bangla Bhai, which means "Bengali Brother", is the popular name of Siddikul Islam, a militant leader who went underground in February after the government banned two Islamist groups on suspicion of involvement in terrorism.
Two weeks ago, police also seized property belonging to Shayek Abdur Rahman, the spiritual leader of the other banned group, Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen.
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