The joint forces arrested a union parishad (UP) chairman in Barisal and three leaders at Agoiljhara upazila BNP and Juba Dal.

Meanwhile, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) raided Mirpur and Pallabi areas in the capital and arrested six associates of Mirpur's dreaded gangster Shahadat.

A home ministry press release said police and Rab arrested 1,772 people in 24 hours till 6:00pm yesterday. Among them, 21 were held under Arms Act, 30 were fugitive convicts, 982 had arrest warrants against them and 739 were picked up on other charges.

The army also arrested 59 listed criminals, the news release said.

The law enforcers also recovered 10 firearms, 13 bullets and 10 homemade bombs during the drive.

The joint forces so far arrested around 28,500 people since they launched the anti-crime drive on January 12 -- they day after the state of emergency was imposed in the country.

CAPITAL
Members of Rab 4 raided different areas of Mirpur and Pallabi on Friday night and arrested six members of infamous Shahadat gang.

The arrestees are Hafizur Rahman alias Rajib, Saiful Amin alias Johny, Mainuddin Fakir alias Nuru, Jamal Hossain, Mashrul Kader alias Paplu and Russell Mian.

In another raid, Rab 3 men arrested listed criminal Monir Hossain alias Kashai Murad from Mayakanan area with a revolver and two bullets on Friday night.

SATKHIRA
Our correspondent in Satkhira reports, the joint forces led by the army raided different areas of the district and arrested four people including the executive director of Uttaran, an NGO.

The arrestees are Shahidul Islam, executive director of Uttaran, Ansar Ali, member of Magura Union Parishad, Belal Sardar, an alleged notorious robber of Kumira village at Tala upazila and Manirul Islam of Dhulihar village at Sadar upazila.

Shahidul Islam was under Tala police custody till 8:00pm last night, police confirmed.

Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) on Friday night also arrested a listed top criminal and ringleader of a smuggling cartel Ataur Rahman Raja at Banshdah village near Indian border.

Locals rejoiced at Raja's arrest with a collective sigh of relief as none dared to protest his criminal activities, said a local UP member seeking anonymity.

Police said Raja is accused in several criminal cases including murder, robbery, smuggling and toll collection.

BARISAL
Our Barisal correspondent adds, the joint forces headed by the army arrested five people including a UP chairman, BNP and Jubo Dal leaders in Barisal on Friday and early Saturday.

The arrestees are chairman of Salta UP in Uzirpur, a regional leader of Sarbohara Kamrul group Abu Jafar Molla, Agoiljhara upazila BNP president and former chairman of Goila union parishad Abdul Latif Molla, joint secretary of the same upazila BNP and a former chairman of Goila Jamal Gomasta, Agoiljhara upazila Juba Dal president Menhaz Fakir and domestic help of Latif Molla Idris Akon.

Sources said Latif Molla and Idris Akon are wanted in a number of criminal cases.

The other three were listed top criminals. Among them, Abu Jafar Molla and Menhaz Fakir were arrested from Dhaka and Jamal Gomasta was arrested from Gournadi by Rab.

Sources said Abu Jafar Molla has already been handed over to Uzirpur Police Station and they later sent him to Barisal Jail. Others would be handed over to Agoiljhara police after interrogation.

NETRAKONA
Our Netrakona correspondent reported that the joint forces arrested eight people including three BNP men in the district in different places of the district during the drive.

The arrestees are listed criminals and BNP activists Lalon Mia, Ali Asgor and Zia, Ijjat Ali, Nurul Alam, Haradhan, Alam Mia and marijuana trader Firoza Begum.

GAIBANDHA
Our correspondent in Gaibandha says joint forces made 11 arrests from different areas of the district.

They raided different areas and arrested one each from Fulchari, Gobindaganj, Palashbari, four from Gaibandha sadar and four from Sadullapur upazilas.

CHANDPUR
Our Chandpur correspondent reports, joint forces arrested 11 people on various charges from seven upazilas of the district during the drive.

BAGERHAT
UNB reports, Bangladesh Coastguards arrested two notorious pirates with three sophisticated firearms from their Medinabag village in Koira upazila yesterday evening.

The pirates, Mahbubur Rahman and Wahiduzzaman, were undergoing interrogation.