By DPA,
Dhaka : An anti-terrorist court in the northern hinterland in Bangladesh has indicted a record number of 61 activists from the outlawed Jamiatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) for spreading Islamic militancy in the country, police sources said Friday.
Chief Magistrate Shamsul Huda also issued arrest warrants against 10 absconding accused who will face a formal trial on a specific charge of attacking a police patrol in August 2003.
All the accused named on the charge sheet will appear in the dock in the remote town of Joypurhat in July to answer charges of propagating for an Islamic state in Bangladesh.
Joypurhat, located some 420 km north of the capital Dhaka, is considered a stronghold of militant Islamic clerics.
The South Asian country has a population of 130 million, a vast majority of whom are Muslims.
The names of two top militants in the JMB, which had also appeared on the charge sheet, were removed as they were already executed for masterminding bomb attacks on street rallies, cinema halls, train stations and courts.
Joint security forces recently arrested Montezur Rahman, a regional JMB commander.
The detention sparked an armed clash between police and Islamists.