Judge Mohammad Rafiqul Islam of the District and Sessions Judge's Court, Dhaka yesterday directed the JMB members to appear before it on that day.

The eight accused JMB operatives are Mohammad Rafiqul Islam alias Sentu, 22, Mohammad Wahab, 26, Yaqub Ali, 21, Anwar Hossain, 23, Faruq Hossain alias Kosai Faruq, 25, Mohammad Wahiduzzaman alias Pintu, 20, Abdus Salam, 22, and Nurul Islam, 23.

Of them, Sentu in now in custody while the others are still at large.

Earlier, the District Magistrate's Court issued warrant of arrest against seven absconding JMB members and on March 1 the court transferred the case to the sessions judge's court for trial.

Investigation Officer of the sedition case filed with Dhamrai Police Station Sub-Inspector Iqbal Hossain on December 27 last year submitted the charge sheet of the case against them to a first class magistrate's court in the city, showing 25 people as prosecution witnesses.

Dhamrai police arrested Sentu, Wahab, Yaqub, Anwar, Faruq and Salam with nine manuals on bomb making and other contraband materials on the Dhaka-Aricha Highway on February 20.

They showed the six men arrested under the Section 54 of the Criminal Procedure Code and produced them before a first class magistrate's court in Dhaka on February 22 last year with a prayer for a seven-day remand to interrogate them. The court granted a two-day remand.

Thirteen days into their arrest, the six operatives of the banned Islamist militant outfit were released on bail. Sentu was re-arrested in November while the others have been absconding since then.

Investigating into the case, Dhamrai police later found that the activities of the accused were of sedition in nature. With approval from the home ministry, SI Zehad Hossain of the police station filed the sedition case against the six arrestees and their accomplice Pintu on September 11.