An official letter in this regard from the home ministry reached the jail two days back, the Sylhet Central Jail authorities said yesterday.

Joint forces held Habib, also the Nayeb-e-Amir of a faction of Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish, on May 16 from a house in the city's Jherjheri para. The Kotwali police produced him before the Sylhet sadar cognizance magistrate court the same day, from where he was sent to jail.

He had been held on charge of having links with the militant groups, a police official said adding that he was shown arrested under the Emergency Power regulations.

Principal of Jamea Madania Islamia Madrasa at the city's Kajirpara, Habib first came to limelight in 1994 when he declared Tk 50,000 reward for author Taslima Nasrin's head.

Besides, he used to talk about his experience of joining training programmes in Afghanistan. However, after the emergence of JMB and other militant groups, he started denying any links with the Afghan wars.

Although Habib had been with the four-party alliance during the immediate past BNP-led rule, he moved to Awami League (AL) camp ahead of the now cancelled January 22 polls and even managed AL ticket to contest Sylhet-6 constituency, that sparked widespread criticisms among AL leaders and workers at that time.