Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has deployed over 18,000 officers and personnel and arrested 14 leaders and activists of the banned Awami League and its associate bodies as part of extensive security measures ahead of the party’s founding anniversary on 23 June.
Special police pickets and checkposts will be set up at more than 200 strategic points across the capital, while strict checkposts and search operations will be intensified at all entry points to Dhaka to prevent any untoward incident.
Specialised units, including the Detective Branch (DB), Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC), Special Branch (SB), and Internal Affairs Division (IAD), will conduct round-the-clock intelligence and field operations. Fifteen Quick Response Teams (QRT) will remain on standby at various points, and adequate forces will be kept in reserve at four main control rooms.
The DMP Commissioner himself, along with all senior police officials, will supervise security duties in person, according to a DMP press release.
In separate operations on Sunday morning, police arrested six Awami League leaders and activists from the Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital area while they were preparing to bring out a procession. Those arrested include Adabor Thana Awami League Organisational General Secretary Md. Kabir Ahmmed and five other activists.
In another operation, Mohammadpur Police arrested eight active Awami League activists from the Mohammadpur College Gate area, also while they were preparing for a procession.
All arrested individuals have been taken into custody, and legal action against them is underway, police said.
Since the beginning of June, DMP has conducted special operations across the capital, arresting 82 people in political cases, 28 during procession preparations, 121 in theft-related cases, 113 in gang-related cases, and 120 in robbery-related cases. A total of 55 extortionists, including four listed offenders, have also been arrested.
DMP has assured citizens that it is committed to maintaining peace and order in the capital at all costs.
