A heavy blanket of security descended on the capital city from early Thursday morning as Awami League sought to enforce its “Dhaka lockdown” call through acts of defiance, despite a government ban on its political activities.
Armoured vehicles, police checkpoints and military patrols dominated key intersections as security forces searched public transport and private vehicles.
Members of army, RAB, police and paramilitary forces deployed nationwide to prevent violence linked to AL’s call for a “Dhaka lockdown.”
Although the capital remained largely calm, tension ran high. A few incidents broke the uneasy calm including — setting fire to Awami League central office, reports of citizens being assaulted by self-proclaimed “July fighters” on suspicion of supporting the AL.
One of the victims, identified as a rickshaw-puller named Mohammad Babu, was beaten on Bangabandhu Avenue before being handed over to law enforcement.
At Dhanmondi 32, a woman was assaulted by Jamaat-Shibir activists after she shouted the slogan “Joy Bangla” near the Bangabandhu residence.
Witnesses said she was beaten and handed over to police. The attackers later claimed she was a member of the Awami League’s women’s wing. Her identity could not be independently confirmed.
The heightened alert coincided with the International Crimes Tribunal-1’s move to fix a verdict date in a case against ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who faces charges of crimes against humanity. ICT fixed November 17 the date of verdict for the case.
Incidents across districts
Outside the capital, violence and sabotage were reported from quite a few districts — including Rajshahi, Jessore, Munshiganj, Narail, Gazipur, Sylhet, Meherpur, Moulvibazar, Shariatpur, Kurigram and Jhenaidah — as groups affiliated with the Awami League and its student front, the Chhatra League, took to the streets in defiance of the ban.
In Munshiganj, members of the Chhatra League blocked sections of the Dhaka–Mawa Expressway in the early hours, setting fires on the roadway and halting traffic for hours. Similar incidents were reported on the Dhaka–Chattogram and Dhaka–Khulna highways, leaving long lines of stranded passengers.
In Narail, activists attempted to detonate crude bombs and blocked the Kalna–Jashore highway with burning tyres. In Jessore, miscreants torched a stationary bus in the city’s Upashohor area.
Gazipur police arrested three suspected Chhatra League activists carrying petrol bombs along the Dhaka–Mymensingh highway, while in Sylhet, two abandoned Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited (BTCL) warehouses near the Bangladesh Bank office at Talatala were set ablaze.
In Moulvibazar’s Kamalganj upazila, attackers attempted to derail a train by placing a railway sleeper on the track inside the Lawachhara National Park. The Dhaka-bound train driver managed to stop in time, averting what could have been a major disaster.
Elsewhere, in Jhenaidah, suspected robbers felled trees on the Jhenaidah–Magura highway in a late-night attempt to block traffic and stage robberies, fleeing as police arrived.
In Sylhet’s South Surma area, police arrested six people, including two alleged Chhatra League activists, as they prepared for a torch procession.
In Khulna, inter-district bus services were suspended for several hours in the morning due to poor passenger turnout amid fears of violence. By noon, normal operations resumed under army supervision.
In Gopalganj, miscreants set fire to a pickup truck parked outside the Public Works Department office and hurled petrol bombs, officials said.
Nearby roads were blocked overnight by felled trees. Police later recovered an intact petrol-filled bottle from the scene.
In Mymensingh, 20 AL activists were detained on suspicion of planning sabotage.
In contrast, life remained mostly normal in Barishal, Rangpur and Rajshahi on Thursday, with public transport, markets, offices and schools operating as usual.
