A procession to celebrate Id-e-Milad-un-Nabi in Dhaka on Sunday. (AFP)

Dhaka, April 1 (PTI): A case was filed against an influential former Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) minister for aiding and abetting the banned Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) days after six of its top militants were hanged.

Five alleged patrons of the militant outfit were arrested yesterday after Fazlur Rahman, a victim of militant torture in northwestern Rajshahi, filed a case against former telecom minister Aminul Haque and 27 others for abetting the JMB.

Law adviser of the interim government Moinul Hosein said the authorities had prepared a list of the patrons of the extremist groups and were gathering evidence to capture them.

“The patrons are still inside the country. We have their names but we are heading slowly since we lack enough evidence,” he told reporters yesterday.

The case against Haque was the first against any senior leader of Khaleda Zia’s four-party alliance government since the execution of the six JMB top brass on Friday for a string of explosions that left at least 28 people dead.

Haque and several leaders of the past government were alleged to have backed the JMB with police assistance.