DHAKA (AFP) - Bangladeshi police on Thursday arrested 250 border guards accused of spreading violence across the country during a mutiny that started at a military base in Dhaka, officers said.

The latest arrests are in addition to the 1,300 rank-and-file troops already in custody accused of staging the February revolt in Dhaka.

The arrests Thursday were in connection with violence that spread across parts of the country in the second day of the 33-hour siege and were made at various Bangladeshi Rifles (BDR) paramilitary bases, Chittagong police chief Z.A. Morshed told AFP.

In total, 250 BDR guards were held Thursday, according to police in each of the four districts where arrests were made.

More than 70 people were killed, including 56 senior army officers, during the revolt on February 25.

The findings of a government and separate army inquiry into the events are yet to be made public.

Twenty border guards have died while in custody over the mutiny, according to the military, prompting rights groups to demand an inquiry into the deaths because they allege some are a result of torture.

The military says all the deaths are suicide or from illnesses.