Police arrested three operatives of banned Hizb-ut Tahrir Bangladesh in front of three mosques in the city yesterday while they were distributing leaflets containing provocative statement against the government and the prime minister.

The arrestees are Nader Zamel Chowdhury, a first year student of statistics at Dhaka University and a resident of Mirpur-10, Reazul Hasan, 22, a resident of Azimpur, and Wahidul Hoque, 24, a student of Dhaka College.

Nader was arrested at the east gate of Baitul Mukarram, Reazul near Baitul Aman Mosque at Dhanmondi and Wahidul in front of the Newmarket Mosque.

The three were distributing leaflets of the banned outfit to devotees in front of the mosques after Juma prayers.

The contents of the leaflet blamed the prime minister for her relation with India and the USA, police said.

Tipu Sultan, sub-inspector of Dhanmondi Police Station, said the operatives of the banned organisation held a conference a few months back at a market in Dhanmondi. Around 70 students of different private universities took part in the conference.

Meanwhile, police arrested two activists of the same outfit at the main gate of the Ambarkhana Mosque in Sylhet city while they were distributing leaflets after Juma prayers yesterday.

Locals caught Farhad Shafi Chowdhury and Mahfuzur Rahman, students of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, and handed over them to Kotwali police.

Farhad is a first year student of industrial engineering and Mahfuzur Rahman a first year student of petroleum engineering at the university.

Police said they were distributing leaflets with messages calling for establishing "caliphate" in Bangladesh.

The Daily Star