Bangladesh militant leader remanded to custody

DHAKA, Mar 23 (Reuters) A Bangladeshi court ordered the chief of a militant Islamist group to be remanded to custody for another 10 days today to allow questioning by the police, a court official said.

Shayek Abdur Rahman, supreme leader of the outlawed Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, was produced before a metropolitan court in Dhaka under heavy security.

Rahman surrendered to security forces earlier this month after they surrounded his hideout in the northeastern town of Sylhet.

His arrest led to the capture of Siddikul Islam Bangla Bhai, the leader of another outlawed Islamist group, Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh, who was remanded to police custody earlier this week.

The two groups have been blamed for a series of bombings across the country in their campaign to turn Bangladesh, a mainly Muslim democracy, into a religious state.

REUTERS DKS BST1738