Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has once again imposed a ban on all kind of gatherings, including meetings, sit-ins, human chains, and processions in and around the Bangladesh Secretariat, the administrative headquarters of the government, and state guesthouse Jamuna, the official residence of Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, effective from July 9 until further notice.
The directive was issued in a public notice signed by acting commissioner and Additional Police Commissioner (Traffic) Mohammad Sarwar on Tuesday.
The ban was imposed under Section 29 of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Ordinance (Ordinance No.-III/76), and in the interest of public order and the safety of the chief adviser, citing the need to maintain public order.
All types of gatherings will be prohibited near the Secretariat, Jamuna, and surrounding areas in between the Hotel Intercontinental crossing, Kakrail Mosque crossing, Officers’ Club crossing, and Minto Road crossing according to the DMP notice.
The ban follows on police’s crackdown on protests organised by former members of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), now Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), who were demonstrating near the Kakrail Mosque intersection in the capital on Monday. Police used water cannons and fired sound grenades to disperse a group of protesters who were there to press home their three-point demand.
The dismissed BDR members, who lost their jobs after the 2009 BDR mutiny, were demonstrating for the reinstatement of their jobs with compensation, the cancellation of certain provisions of the independent investigation commission on the Pilkhana massacre, and to revert the BGB’s name back to BDR (Bangladesh Rifles).
According to sources, several protesters and police personnel were injured in the clash.