The Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP) has barred 329 politically connected and criminally linked individuals from entering the city for up to two years, in what officials describe as the most aggressive security measure in the force’s history.
The move comes as the nation prepares for its 13th parliamentary election amid growing fears of violence, intimidation and organised crime.
The order, signed by CMP Commissioner Haseeb Aziz on Saturday, effectively places the port city under heightened security control. For the first time, police have simultaneously invoked Sections 40, 41 and 43 of the CMP Ordinance, 1978—rarely used legal provisions that allow the expulsion of individuals or groups deemed to pose threats to public safety.
Senior police officials say the measure is intended as a pre-emptive strike. According to intelligence assessments, surveillance reports and criminal records, the listed individuals are considered “high-risk elements” capable of triggering armed clashes, spreading panic, intimidating voters and financing criminal networks during the volatile election period.
“This is not routine policing,” a senior CMP official told TIMES of Bangladesh. “This is about denying space to violence before it begins.”
Although most of those named in the order are linked to deposed Awami League and its affiliated organisations, the list also includes figures associated with BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami. BNP sources confirmed that more than a dozen of their leaders and activists have been named, sparking concern within party ranks.
Speaking to TIMES, BNP leader Shawkat Azam Khwaja, who is ranked fourth on the list and serves as joint convener of Chattogram Metropolitan BNP, said the list appeared to have been prepared without proper verification. He alleged that several individuals had been wrongly categorised as security threats. He added that the matter had been formally conveyed to the party’s high command and would be raised with both the government and police authorities.
The list has sent shockwaves across political, administrative and criminal circles. Among those named are former ministers, MPs, city mayors, councillors, and senior leaders of Awami League and its allied bodies.
They include Mohammad Zahed Prakash, also known as Picchi Zahed; Chattogram Metropolitan Awami League president Mahtabuddin Chowdhury; former City Corporation mayor AJM Nasir Uddin; former Rauzan MP Fazle Karim Chowdhury and his son Faraz Karim Chowdhury; former education minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel; former MP M Abdul Latif; and senior figures from the Chhatra League, Jubo League and Swechchhasebak League.
The order also names 40 former Chattogram City Corporation councillors and several individuals long identified by police as terror operatives. Law enforcement officials say some of those expelled already face arrest warrants in cases involving murder, torture and crimes against humanity linked to the July–August mass uprising in Chattogram. Former education minister Nowfel is also facing a warrant in the same case.
CMP sources say many of the expelled individuals remain active within major political parties contesting the February 12, 2026 election, raising fresh concerns about the overlap between politics and criminal influence.
The mentioned leaders of Awami League whose activities are banned are either living abroad or hiding, making it impossible for reporters to contact them.
The list includes the name of Shibir cadre Sajjad Ali Khan, also known as Baro Sajjad, who has reportedly been out of the country for a long time. Police sources allege that criminal operations in Chattogram are being run at his behest.
The list also names his associate Sajjad Hossain, known as Chhoto Sajjad, who is currently in jail in Rajshahi. Chhoto Sajjad’s wife, Sharmin Akhter Tamanna, who is being held in Feni jail, has also been included.
Commenting on the matter, Jamaat-e-Islami Chattogram Metropolitan Assistant Secretary Morshed Alam Chowdhury said that none of these individuals were currently in the city. He added that the party would express its position only after reviewing the full list.
Initially, Jamaat-e-Islami leaders declined to make any detailed comment, maintaining that none of the 329 individuals named in the expulsion order are affiliated with the party.
Police have warned that any listed individual who enters the city will be immediately detained and forcibly removed, with further criminal charges added if necessary.
“This is the first time in the history of the Chattogram Metropolitan Police that these sections have been enforced together,” Commissioner Aziz said. “I am not sure whether there is any precedent for this in Bangladesh.”
He added that those identified as threats to public life would remain outside the city for two years. “This decision is to protect the lives and property of city residents,” he said. “Anyone who violates the order will not be spared.”
The crackdown follows what police describe as a severe deterioration in law and order over the past 15 months under the interim government. Chattogram has seen a series of high-profile violent incidents, including the killing of lawyer Alif, allegedly by members of the Hindu religious organisation ISKCON, and the shooting of a senior BNP leader who was also the city’s BNP convener and a parliamentary candidate. That same attack left notorious criminal Sarwar Hossain Babla dead.
According to police figures, nearly 50 people have been killed across greater Chattogram during this period. A significant number of illegal firearms remain unrecovered, fuelling fears of renewed bloodshed.
In response, CMP has already deployed sub-machine guns at key checkpoints, with shoot-on-sight instructions against armed criminals. Senior officers admit that intelligence reports have also exposed links between some police personnel and underworld networks, complicating enforcement efforts.
Authorities say traditional policing methods have failed, with many suspects securing bail within days and returning to criminal activity. Expulsion from the city, they argue, has become the last remaining option.
As Chattogram heads into a high-stakes election, the message from law enforcement is clear: the streets will be controlled before fear can once again dominate the ballot box.
