Hy'bad blasts: Irked B'desh denies any arrests

Bangladesh has denied that any arrests have been made in the country in connection with the Hyderabad blasts and said it has not received any request from India for information on the bombings.

Bangladesh also slammed the Indian media for trying to portray the country as a hotbed of terrorism and said such reports were 'disturbing and clearly motivated.'

'Bangladesh is yet to receive any request for information in connection with the Hyderabad blasts and there have been no arrests in Bangladesh in this connection,' the Foreign Ministry said in a statement in Dhaka.

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had on Tuesday asked Bangladesh to cooperate in tackling terrorism emanating from there.

The minister had said that Bangladesh had been told about terrorists operating in its territory, including at a recent meeting of Home Secretaries.

'The Home Ministry has informed me that no one by that name -- Mohammad Sharifuddin -- has been arrested in Dhaka,' acting foreign secretary Mohammad Touhid Hossain told a newspaper.

Hossain was reacting to reports in a section of the Indian media that Bangladeshi police had detained one Sharifuddin alias Abu Hamza in connection with the Mecca Masjid blasts and for providing support to the twin blasts in Hyderabad last month.

'Bangladesh's position on terrorism is clear and unequivocal as it abhors terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and Bangladesh is committed to cooperating with the international community in combating global terrorism,' the statement said.

It urged the Indian media to refrain from 'such sensationalism,' saying 'this is neither helpful in the fight against terrorism nor in fostering better relations between the two countries.'

Reports in the section of the Indian media had quoted security sources as saying that the Bangladeshi chapter of the Harkat-ul-Jihad-Al-Islami was behind the August 25 and May 11 bombings in Hyderabad.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Raddy had earlier blamed Bangladeshi militant groups for carrying out the bombings, which was dismissed by Dhaka as 'baseless.'