Dhaka, Nov 6 (IANS) A top leader of the banned militant outfit Harkat-ul-Jihad (HuJI), who was sentenced to death in absentia for the 2001 blast in Dhaka, has been arrested.

The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) media wing director Mufti Mahmud Khan told bdnews24.com that Abu Bakar was on the run and arrested from Dhaka’s Kernaiganj area Wednesday night.

Abu Bakar is said to be one of the closest associates of HuJI’s top leader Mufti Hannan.

The 2001 explosions at Dhaka’s Ramna Park left 10 people dead.

Bakar was also charged with carrying out a grenade attack at an Awami League rally in Dhaka in 2004.

In June this year, the court sentenced eight to death, including Mufti Hannan and Abu Bakar, and life in prison for six others for executing blasts during the Bangla New Year celebrations.