Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) spokesperson M. Kamruzzaman told AFP that five men had been detained in Dhaka, including the key suspect believed to have led the mutiny of the Bangladesh Rifles soldiers.

"Intelligence and RAB officers have arrested Touhidul Alam following a raid in the capital. He is the prime accused in the events at the Bangladesh Rifles headquarters last week," Kamruzzaman said.

"Alam was the ring leader of the mutineers. The four others arrested by our officers have also been named in the case."

Alam led a small group of the mutineers who held negotiations with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to bring an end to the 33-hour revolt last Thursday.

Following the talks, in which the prime minister issued a general amnesty for those who surrendered, the mutineers were filmed laying down their weapons on the instructions of Alam.

Police throughout Bangladesh have been hunting for 1000 of the border troops who are accused of turning on their senior officers and butchering them and their families.

The incident has raised fears for the country's new civilian government, which took over from an army-backed administration only earlier this year.

Alam is believed to have started his career in the Bangladesh Rifles, rising through the ranks to become an assistant director of the force.

The impoverished South Asian nation has been shocked by the brutality of the killings, with many of the bodies dumped in sewers, drains and shallow graves.

AFP