Bangladesh police detains largest Islamist party chief, eight other leaders

The Detective Branch (DB) of Bangladesh police have arrested the country's largest Islamist party chief and eight other leaders in capital Dhaka, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer (president) Maqbul Ahmad and eight other leaders including Secretary General Shafiqur Rahman and Nayeb-e-Ameer (vice president) Mia Golam Parwar were detained in Dhaka tonight," a DB official who did not like to be named told Xinhua Monday night.

He said DB men detained them from a house in the city while holding secret meeting at about 9 pm (local time).

"We've got information that they meet secretly as part of hatching conspiracy to carry out subversive activities," he said.

A Jamaat spokesman was not available for comment.

-- BERNAMA