Meanwhile, seven cases were filed against former BNP lawmaker from Kushtia-2 constituency Shahidul Islam and his brother Bheramara municipality Chairman Towhidul Islam in Bheramara and Mirpur police stations in Kushtia yesterday.

The joint forces also arrested Sylhet district AL General Secretary (GS) Iftekhar Hossain Shamim, Dupchanchia upazila BNP GS and municipality chairman Mohammad Jahangir Alam.

Meantime, the home ministry yesterday said members of the armed forces, police and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) arrested 1,596 people across the country in 24 hours till 6:00am yesterday.

Of them, 67, including 41 criminals, were arrested in army operations and were handed over to police later.

Of the rest arrested by police and Rab, 16 are accused in the Arms Act, two in Explosive Substances Act, 27 were convicted in different cases while 791 faced warrants of arrest.

SALAHUDDIN'S SURRENDER
Salahuddin appeared before the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Mamun Al Rashid with his lawyers at around 12:45pm in the scheduled hearings of two cases filed against him under the Arms Act and Special Powers Act.

The former BNP MP earlier met his lawyer at his chamber near the Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Dhaka at around 11:00am to talk about his surrender.

The defence lawyers prayed for bail in the cases saying that the three swords, one knife and currencies of US, Saudi Arabia, Thailand that had been seized from a showcase at Salahuddin's house were part of his collection.

"Keeping the foreign currencies and the weapons at my house was in no way illegal," Salahuddin told the court.

The prosecution opposed the bail prayer.

Hearing both the sides, the court ordered to send him to Dhaka Central Jail. He was later taken to jail in a police prison van.

On February 4, the security forces seized the weapons and foreign currencies along with nine diplomatic passports and eight other Bangladeshi passports, 23 mobile phone sets, videocassettes, compact disks, shotgun licence when they raided Salahuddin's house at Kadamtola in Shyampur to arrest him.

TANGAIL ARRESTS
The security forces arrested Shamim-al-Mansoor Siddiqui alias Azad Siddiqui, younger brother of Krishak Sramik Janata League (KSJL) president Abdul Kader Siddiqui, at Ichhapur village under Kalihati upazila in the early hours yesterday.

Tipped off, the security forces cordoned off a house in the village and captured him from there.

Azad, who has been on the run since the launching of the joint forces crackdown, faces 26 criminal cases including three for murder in Tangail Sadar Police Station.

He was involved in bid-manipulation of tenders at different government departments including Roads and Highways Department (RHD) in Tangail and piled up wealth of crores of taka within a very short time, police said.

Two executive engineers of RHD were forced to leave Tangail in 2005 after Azad threatened them with death for not following his instructions, RHD sources said. He also beat up a sub-assistant engineer of the department on August 22, 2005 when he resisted Azad's men from digging up earth damaging the Tangail-Madhupur Road, they added.

Azad announced to contest January 22 polls from Tangail-4 (Kalihati) constituency as a KSJL candidate.

On January 30, the joint forces detained Azad's elder brother Murad Siddiqui, who also faces 23 criminal cases including three for murder, from Kalibari area in Tangail town.

BOGRA ARRRESTS
Dupchanchia BNP leader Jahangir Alam was picked up by the joint forces at Poura Bhaban yesterday noon. He is accused in several criminal cases filed with Dupchanchia and Kahalu police stations.

Meantime, BNP district unit GS Saiful Islam and businessman Shokrana, who were held on Sunday for misappropriating government relief materials, were sent to Bogra Jail yesterday morning with a month's detention. Another case will be filed against Shokrana shortly for his alleged involvement in hoarding over 52,000 bags of lentil, police said.

Shokrana was allegedly involved in several murders including that of freedom fighter Anwarul Haque Anu, but the cases have been stayed due to political pressure, police sources said.

SYLHET ARRESTS
The joint forces picked up district AL GS Iftekhar Hossain Shamim from an inaugural function of a market in Fenchuganj upazila yesterday morning.

Earlier on Sunday night, the joint forces detained chairman of Chhatak municipality Abul Kalam Chowdhury, who faces the allegations of harbouring criminal groups and grabbing public land.

The law enforcers also held Khadimpara Union Parishad (UP) Chairman Iqbal Hossain the same night, who was later released on bail.

Former chairman of Kuchai UP Dara Miah was arrested yesterday afternoon on charges of grabbing private and public land.

The joint forces also arrested Jalalabad Gas CBA leader Golam Hamid Babul and JCD activists

Ali Akbar, Zakaria and Zakir Hossain.

The Rab men in another raid caught JCD men Manik, Chanchal and Mostafa from South Surma area yesterday afternoon.

The law enforcers also detained UP member Abdul Quadir and Makku Miah on charges of grabbing government land in Jaintapur upazila yesterday.

BAGERHAT
On Sunday night, the joint forces arrested a commissioner of Mongla municipality M Sarwar Hossain and Jamaat leaders Mostafa Kamal and Maulana Golam Mostafa from Mongla.

CASES AGAINST EX-MP
In Kushtia, seven cases were filed against former BNP lawmaker Shahidul Islam, his brother Bheramara UP Chairman Towhidul Islam and their accomplices in Bheramara and Mirpur police stations in Kushtia yesterday.

The complainants, who filed the cases for attacking different rallies and protest processions, said they could not lodge the cases soon after the incidents fearing reprisal by Shahidul and his gang.

The complainants of the cases are Nawsad Ali, Idrish Ali, Abul Hasem, Tazubbar Ali, Tauhidul Islam and Altaf Hossain.

Shahidul Islam earned widespread notoriety for his various clandestine and criminal activities during the last ten years when he had been the elected lawmaker from the constituency for two terms. He had turned the area into a 'risky zone' for journalists who were assaulted and threatened for writing against him on many occasions.

The latest incident took place when BNP cadres loyal to Shahidul attacked a journalists' rally in the district town and injured 25 journalists including former president of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists Iqbal Sobhan Choudhury on July 31.

But no action was taken against Shahidul and nobody dared lodge any case against him during the tenure of the past BNP-led government.

After the take over of the new caretaker government led by Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed and the starting of drive by the joint forces, Shahidul went into hiding.